Mass Effect: Intertwining Fates
by Hillsy
Summary: While enjoying a peaceful life on Eden Prime, John Shepard's world is turned upside down by his find of the Prothean Beacon, followed by the attack of the Geth lead by rogue Spectre, Saren. With the Prothean knowledge burned into his brain, he must return to active duty within the Alliance and team up with someone he never expected to see again, Jane Shepard. Rewrite of Mass Effect
1. Prologue

**Mass Effect: Intertwining Fates**

**Prologue - The Normandy**

* * *

Commander Jane Shepard, XO of the new Alliance frigate, the Normandy. The title was still fresh for her, when she received this new posting she never expected that someone like Captain David Anderson would appoint her as his XO, it felt like a dream come true. Ever since she was younger, she dreamed of exploring the deep reaches of space, which made things all the better for her as she was a Spacer kid, born and raised aboard stations across Alliance space, both her parents were Alliance officers, and they were constantly moving from posting to posting. As she looked out the starboard window down at Earth, she thought back to what had lead her to this position, to be wearing N7 armour, the be chosen to become one of the best the Alliance military had to offer. Jane had single handedly won the Alliance a great victory on Elysium, rallying the civilians into defending their colony as a coalition of pirates and slavers invaded, intending to wipe out the human colony. Jane managed to repel the constant pushes of their attacks and keep them contained, after hours of brutal fighting, Alliance reinforcements showed up, they took charge and forced the invaders to break rank and retreat, securing a major victory for the Alliance and making Jane a Hero, her admission into the N7 program came soon after.

"_Commander?_"

Jane immediately reached up to her ear and activated the com. "Yes, I'm here."

"_Captain Anderson here. We are about to get underway, our first destination will be Eden Prime._"

"Understood, sir." Jane replied.

"_Head up to the cockpit and keep an eye on the proceedings, Nihlus is already up there._"

"Wouldn't you rather be up there, sir?" Jane asked.

"_I've already seen what this ship can do, besides I have to report to Admiral Hackett of the Fifth Fleet._"

"Understood sir, I'll be sure to give you a report as soon as I am able." Jane said.

"_Understood, Commander. Anderson out._"

Jane switched off the comms and left the starboard viewing window, she walked up the steps to the first deck and emerged into the CIC. She was quite fascinated by the layout, as the Normandy was co-developed by the Turian's, they had put some of their interior designs into the ship, to view the Galaxy Map, the user had to stand on a large podium, overlooking the entire CIC and what the Turians would consider is looking down upon your subordinates. She tore her eyes away and continued to make her way up to the bridge, she accidentally bumped into a young and eager Corporal, they just shook it off and saluted the Commander as she continued along her way. She now entered the bridge and saw they were already underway, it was strange, everything was so quiet it didn't feel as they they were moving at all, let alone feel the sudden thrust from their acceleration.

"The board is green." She heard the pilot say. She hadn't gotten the chance to read his file yet, but many of the crew referred to him as Joker, she didn't know why but made a mental note to find out why later. "Approach run has begun."

Jane saw through the windows as the Normandy grew ever closer to the Mass Relay, a large mass transit device left for them by the extinct race known as the Protheans. Admittedly she didn't know much about them, only that they left so much to discover in the galaxy, like the ruins on Mars, without learning the Protheans secrets to intergalactic travel, humanity would not have advanced this far into the galactic community.

"Hitting the relay in 3... 2... 1..."

Jane braced herself for what would be a sudden acceleration, she watched as the Mass Relay linked up with them preparing to hurtle them thousands of light years in an instant, but when the jump came, she didn't feel a thing, they were flying smoothly through the air. She couldn't believe it, the Normandy was nothing short of an engineering feat, not to mention it had a stealth ability, able to hide its heat emissions for hours, making them practically invisible to scanners, unfortunately they were still visible to the naked eye. Now was a good a time as any to check in with the pilot. "What's our status?"

"Oh, Commander I didn't hear you come in." Joker said, his hands playing across the holographic interface that controlled much of the Normandy. "Thrusters... check. Navigation... Check. Internal sink emissions engaged. All systems online. Drift... just under 1500 K."

"1500 is good." Came the voice from beside Jane, she looked to the Turian, Nihlus, that was standing just above Joker, observing the Normandy's jump. "Your Captain will be pleased." Without another word, Nihlus turned and left the cockpit.

Joker and Shepard both watched as he left, with an annoyed grunt, Joker turned back to his controls and muttered loudly. "I hate that guy."

"Nihlus gave you a compliment." Came a voice to Joker's right, it belong to Kaiden Alenko, a surprising addition to the Normandy's crew. Like Jane, Kaiden was a biotic, and a strong one at that, retrofitted with the highly controversial L2 implants. "So, you hate him?" He finished with a slight grin on his face.

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good." Joker replied, both joking and making light of the situation. "I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit the target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible."

Jane couldn't help as her lips curled into a humoured smile. "I guess that's why they call him Joker." She thought to herself.

"Besides, Spectres are trouble." Joker followed up. "I don't like having him onboard, call me paranoid."

"You're paranoid." Kaiden replied, quite humoured by Joker's paranoia. "The council help fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Yeah." Joker scoffed. "That is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story."

Jane had to admit, Joker did make something of a point, Spectres were the best of the best in the Galactic community, they were above the law and answered to no one but the council themselves. The Citadel Council were the head in the galactic community, always deciding what was in the people best interests, the council consisted of an Asari, a Turian and a Salarian, many of the other races had been fighting to get a representative on the council, especially humanity. "They don't just send Spectre's on shakedown runs." She thought out loud.

"So there's more going on than the captains letting on." Joker said, paying a quick 'I told you so' glance to Kaiden.

Kaiden didn't have time to answer before the cockpits comms activated and Captain Anderson's voice came through. "_Joker! Status report._"

"Just cleared the Mass Relay, Captain." Joker replied over the comms. "Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."

"_Good._" Came Anderson's reply. "_Find us a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission report relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime._"

"Aye aye, Captain." Joker said. "Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

"_He is already here, Lieutenant._" Anderson replied, his tone much different than his usual cheery one. "_Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing._" The comms shut off after that.

Joker turned to look up at Jane. "You get that, Commander?"

Jane had picked up on Anderson's tone and didn't like the sound of it. "He sounds angry." She said, thinking out loud again. "Something must have gone wrong with the mission."

Joker scoffed again. "The captain always sounds like that whenever he is talking to me."

"I can't possibly imagine why." Kaiden couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

Jane couldn't help as another humoured smile spread across her face, deciding not to tempt fate, she turned and left the cockpit, making her way to the comm room. She walked through the CIC, making for the comm room when she overheard a snippet of conversation, from the same Corporal she had accidentally bumped into and the Normandy's doctor.

"I grew up on Eden Prime, doc." The corporal said. "It's not the sort of place Spectre's visit. There's something Nihlus isn't telling us about this mission."

Deciding to lay his mind as rest, she approached him and spoke. "Something on your mind, Corporal?"

"What do you think, Commander?" The corporal asked. "We won't be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we? I'm itching for some real action."

"I sincerely hope you're kidding, Corporal." Doctor Chakwas said in a cold tone. "Your 'real action' usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary."

"You need to calm down, Corporal." Jane said. "A good soldier stays cool, even under fire."

"I'm sorry, Commander." The young corporal apologised. "But all this waiting is killing me, I've never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board!"

"Just treat this like any other assignment and everything will work out fine." Jane said. She liked that he was committed, but his over eagerness was something she would need to keep an eye on.

"Easy for you to say." The corporal replied. "You proved yourself in the Blitz, everybody knows what you can do. This is my big chance, I need to prove to the brass just what I can do."

"You're young, Corporal." Jane said, this corporal reminded her of her days in N7 training. Young guns, like Jenkins, were often the first to leave or get out down, thinking they could take on the world, but in the end their stupidity let them down. "You have a long career ahead of you, don't do something stupid to mess it up."

"Don't worry, ma'am. I won't screw this up." The corporal replied.

Jane just nodded, she didn't really have anymore to add. "The captain is waiting for me." She said as she gave the comm room door behind them a nod.

"Goodbye Commander." Doctor Chakwas said respectfully as the two parted, letting Jane continue on her way.

Jane slipped passed the two and entered the comm room, she walked down the short ramp into the large circular room, just at the end of it stood Nihlus, all Line and looking at a screen showing the scenery of Eden Prime. She stepped into the centre of the room and cleared her throat.

Nihlus turned to face Jane. "Commander Shepard. I was hoping you would get here first, it would give us a chance to talk." Nihlus began.

Jane nervously looked around the room, Anderson was nowhere in sight, she was sure he would be here. "The Captain said he would meet me here." She said, a little suspicion in her voice.

"He's on his way." Nihlus said simply. He then began to pace, but kept his attention on Shepard. "I want to know more about this world we are going to, Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

"They say its a paradise." Jane said simply. "But I've never been there, so I can't really say."

"Yes, a paradise." Nihlus said "Serene. Tranquil. Safe. Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it?"

Jane was slowly warming up to Nihlus, he seemingly appreciated humans advancement in the galactic community.

"Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them." Nihlus continued on. "But how safe is it really?"

Alarms began ringing in Janes head, it almost sounded like a threat, and at the same time it also confirmed her suspicions all along, there was something else at play here. "Do you know something?" She asked as she stepped closer to the pacing Turian.

Nihlus stopped pacing and looked down at Jane "You people are still newcomers to the galaxy, Shepard." He said simply. "The galaxy can be a very dangerous place." He paused and took this opportunity to cold his arms. "Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"

Jane was about to answer when from nowhere, Captain Anderson appeared at her side. "I think it's time we told the Commander what's really going on."

"This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run." Nihlus said, now adopting a business like attitude.

Jane turned her attention to Anderson. "I figured there was something you weren't telling us." She said in a neutral tone.

"We're making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime." Anderson began. "That is why we needed the stealth systems operational."

"There must be a reason you didn't tell me about this, sir." Jane replied, feeling left out of the loop.

"This comes down from the top, Commander." Anderson said. "Information strictly on a need-to-know basis." The captain left Shepard side and stood forward, now standing beside Nihlus. "A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean."

"I thought the Prothean's disappeared 50,000 years ago." Jane said, thinking out loud as she frequently did.

"Their legacy still remains." Nihlus began. "The Citadel, the Mass Relays, our ship drives. It's all based on Prothean technology."

"This is big, Shepard. The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years." Anderson said, trying to stress his words so that the weight of the situation would be better understood. "But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

"Obviously this goes above mere human interests, Commander." Nihlus interjected. "This discovery could affect every race in Council space."

Jane almost felt as though Nihlus' words were a bit contradictory, humanity had discovered the beacon, so why was it being passed on to the rest? "Why don't we keep to beacon for ourselves?" She couldn't help but ask.

"You humans don't exactly have the best reputation." Nihlus said bluntly. "Some species see you as selfish. Too unpredictable. Too independent. Even dangerous."

"Sharing that beacon will improve relations with the council." Anderson began, taking over for Nihlus. "Plus, we need their scientific expertise. They know more about the Prothean's than we do."

"The beacon is not the only reason I'm here, Shepard." Nihlus said, stepping forward.

Jane felt a little confused by this new statement, she looked to Anderson for an explanation. "What does that mean?"

"Nihlus was also sent here to see you in action, Commander." Anderson said. "He is here to evaluate you."

"I guess that explains why I bump into him every time I turn around." Jane thought out loud. The thought was true though, ever since she had received her posting aboard the Normandy, she always felt as though she were being constantly watched, when she looked around, she always noticed Nihlus close by, watching her, evaluating her. "But what is he evaluating me for exactly?"

"The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time." Anderson began. "Humanity wants more say in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectre's represent the councils power and authority, if they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come."

"You held off an enemy assault in the Blitz single-handed." Nihlus said in praise of Janes previous efforts. "You showed not only courage, but incredible skill. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres."

Jane felt a great sense of accomplishment flow through her, Anderson was right, it would show the Council just his far humanity has come, and she was the one getting chosen for this prestigious honour. But something else Nihlus said didn't make all that much sense to her, he had put her name forward? She thought it would have come from a superior officer in the Alliance parliament, not a turian. Ever since the first contact war, some Turians and humans alike held a fierce grudge toward the other, the rest seemed to get along quite harmoniously. "Why would a Turian want a human in the Spectres? No offence, mind."

"None taken." Nihlus said. "Not all Turians resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species. We see what you have to offer the rest of the galaxy, and the Spectres. We are an elite group, it is rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don't care that you're human, Shepard, I only care that you can do the job."

Jane turned her attention away from Nihlus, receiving praise from a turian Spectre was a double whammy for her. "I assume this is good for the Alliance?" She asked Anderson.

"Earth needs this, Shepard." Anderson replied. "We're counting on you."

"I need to see your skills for myself, Commander." Nihlus said. "Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together."

"You'll be in charge of the ground team." Anderson began. "Secure the beacon and get it onto the who ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."

Jane nodding in understanding. "Just give the word, Captain. My team and I will be ready to go."

"Good." Anderson said. "We should be getting close to Eden..."

"_Captain!_" Jokers voice came over the PA. "_We've got a problem._"

"What's wrong Joker!" Anderson replied.

"_Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this._" Joker said.

"Bring it up on screen." Anderson said as all three turned to look at the screen behind them that had began to play the transmission.

A video log began to play, it became apparent that it was being recorded from an omni-tool. What they saw was unnerving, a heavy firefight was taking place, many Alliance soldiers were bunkered down in defensible positions and returning fire at an unknown enemy. A soldier in white armour leapt from cover over to the one recording "_Get down!_" She ordered as she pushed them into the dirt, immediately turning her Assault Rifle back to the enemy and firing once more. More explosions and gun fire could be heard.

The video panned to another soldier and they began to explain the situation. "_We are under heavy fire and tking heavy casualties, repeat heavy casualties!_" They said in a panicked voice. "_We can't..._" Another explosion cut across and the soldier grunted in pain, but that wasn't the worst of it, the transmission was becoming unstable. "_... need evac... We need..._" The soldier stopped speaking as the camera panned once more, capturing the shocked looks of some of the other soldiers, the camera now faced just what they had all been looking at. What appeared to be a large storm was coming down on the colony, only it didn't seem natural, something began to emerge from the storm, a large red tentacle of sorts, soon followed by many more, whatever it was, it was very large.

The transmission the faded into static. "_The transmission cuts out after that._" Joker said over the PA. "_No comm traffic at all. Just goes dead. There's nothing._"

"Reverse and hold at 38.5" Anderson quickly said.

The transmission then rewound and paused at the point Anderson had asked for, the large silhouette jutted out of the storm, it was large whatever it was, larger than anything Jane had ever seen. She could hear as Nihlus's mandible clicked nervously, she too was nervous at what was to come.

"Status report." Anderson asked, ending the growing silent tension.

"_17 minutes out, Captain._" Joker said. "_No other Alliance ships in the area._"

"Take us in Joker." Anderson ordered. "Fast and quiet. This mission just got a lot more complicated."

"A small strike team can move quickly, without drawing attention." Nihlus said. "It's our best chance to secure the beacon."

Anderson nodded and turned to Shepard. "Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold."

Jane nodded and looked back to the screen with the image still on it. Anderson was right, this mission had just become a lot more complicated.


	2. Chapter 1

**Mass Effect: Intertwining Fates**

**Chapter 1 - The Other Shepard**

* * *

******Ten minutes before Invasion.**

* * *

"So, this is a Prothean beacon, huh?"

"You bet, John." One of the Salarian excavators said, very excited as to the discovery they had made. "If not for you, we would not have discovered it in the first place."

John just stared at the seemingly inactive beacon, lying in the ruins that it had been uncovered in. "It was a complete accident, honestly. All I was doing was searching for a fresh water well."

"Accident or not, this is a huge find." The excavator said.

"So..." John began. "Am I looking at any sort of compensation for the find, or..."

"Of course, the Citadel Council will be sure to reward you for this miraculous find." The excavator said.

John couldn't help but groan lightly. "Listen. Is there any way I can just get some credits now? I'm trying to stay off the grid." He watched as the Salarians face changed. "I'm trying to hide from my family, and the less of a trail I leave, the better."

"Hmm... Go talk to the head researcher, they might be able to help." The excavator said.

"Alright." John said, feeling a weight leave his shoulders. "Where can I find the researcher?"

"Over by the tram station I believe, she is trying to get one of the trams to carry the beacon to the space port." The excavator.

"Who is she?" John asked.

"Asari, you can't miss her." The excavator replied. "Names Benezia T'Soni."

John nodded and began to walk up the hill and away from the excavation site, he couldn't believe his luck, just three days ago he was on his last few credits, and now he had really hit the jackpot with a find such as this. He made his way down the slope toward the tram station, it didn't take long to find the Asari the excavator spoke of, it was a human colony after all, and the nearest other Asari John knew of was miles away. This one intrigued him, she was dressed all in black, and the one thing that got his attention was her enormous bust, provocatively displayed like they were. He approached her, but didn't interrupt her conversation that she was having with a turian.

"So, is this the one we have been looking for?" The turian asked.

"The same. We just need to activate it, and..." The Asari replied. But she stopped mid sentence when she saw John approach. "Yes? What can I do for you?"

"Benezia T'Soni?" John asked.

"Yes? That is my name." Benezia replied.

"I was just speaking to one of your excavators." John said simply, pointing toward the dig site with his thumb. "They said you would be able to help me out with some credits for finding it."

"So, you are the one who found it?" Benezia asked.

John nodded. "Sure am."

"Alright, I'll give you all the credits you wish." Benezia replied. "But first, I need to ask you some questions."

"Alright, shoot." John said simply, folding his arms and waiting for the questions to fly.

"How did you find the ruins in the first place?" Benezia asked. "Were you drawn to it somehow?"

"No." John answered. "I was searching for a fresh water well as we are going through a bit of a slight drought at the moment. The scanner I had picked something up, so I dug and uncovered the ruins, I wasn't sure what it was, so I showed some of the colonists, and they called you."

"So it was by dumb luck you found it, yes?" Benezia asked.

"Exactly." John said simply.

"Very well. Just one more question then I can give you your credits." The Asari said. "When you saw the beacon for the first time, was it doing anything?"

"Not a thing." John answered. "All it did was just sit in the middle of that ruin, gathering dust, just like it is now."

"Very well. Thank you for answering my questions, here are your credits." Benezia said, producing a credit chit from seemingly nowhere.

"Thanks." John said, taking it without hesitation. "If I may ask, how much is on here."

"Two million credits." Benezia replied.

John's eyes widened in shock. "Two... Million? You've got to be joking, right?" Was he really holding a small fortune in his hands?

"Of course. Finding the Prothean Beacon isn't something to be taken lightly." Benezia said. "It's only fair that you should be well compensated for your find. You have no idea just how much you have helped the galaxies cause."

"I... Thank you." John said, still looking at the credit chit in his hands, he was holding it as if it were an irreplaceable piece of fine china.

"If that is everything then clear off, human." The turian said suddenly, catching John by surprise. "We have business to take care of."

John payed the turian an annoyed glare, he didn't appreciate his tone, but he had been paid nonetheless so there wasn't a reason to remain any longer. He turned and walked away, leaving Benezia and the strange turian to their business, something in John's gut told him there was something off about that turian, the way he watched him through those glowing blue eyes, that the suit he wore looked as though it were keeping him alive with the cybernetics and wires running around it. "That's all. Thanks for the creds." He said simply, he turned and walked away from the pair. He had gotten everything he wanted and more, no point in hanging around in business he didn't know or care about any longer.

He entered his small loft just on the outskirts of the small colony, he tossed the credit chit into the desk near his extranet terminal and slumped down onto the bed. Now that he had enough credits to make a thorough living, John thought that leaving Eden Prime and starting anew on a different colony would be a good start, he didn't like staying in the same place more than a few months, and he had been on Eden Prime for almost a year now, he was long overdue for a change of scenery. He laid his head down on the pillow and looked up to the ceiling, he hated how his life was now, he had it easy when he was in the Alliance, it was times like these he wished he could re-enlist, but then he remembered why it was that he had left in the first place.

He was sent on a mission to Akuze back in 2177 to find out why the latest colony development had gone dark, they found the intact settlement, but not a living soul around, no bodies, nothing. That night when his squad settled in, the worst thing that could have happened, took place, they now knew just what had happened to the colony developers, Thresher Maws, they had camped on a nest. Every single one of those soldiers under John's command fought bravely, defending both themselves and their comrades, but it was a useless fight, they were all slaughtered and butchered by the Maws. John just barely managed to escape back to the landing zone, it was then that he learned that he was the Sole Survivor of the worst defeat John had ever suffered, he lost fifty good men and women, and he was left alive to tell their families why he was there and they were not. After the attack, John underwent intense counselling and psychological evaluations, he was cleared for duty, that was something he didn't mind, but what really got to him was the fact the Alliance gave him a promotion to Commander as well as an N7 commendation. He took their offer and completed his N7 training, but shortly after, he became fed up with the Alliance and their constant stonewalling, so he just got up and left, turning his back on his family and career.

Since that day, he had not made any attempt to contact his family, when his father passed away however, he did attend the funeral, but stuck to the back so as to not get involved with the family he had been trying to avoid. After the service, he paid his final respect and left his father to rest in peace, as he left however, he bumped into an old friend of his fathers, David Anderson. They had a very short and meaningless conversation, but just as John was leaving, he handed over a set of dog tags to John, claiming the belonged to his father and that he wanted John to have them, to remind him of who he was should things get tough.

With an irritated sigh, John looked away from the ceiling and over to the frame sitting by his desk. Inside of it were two sets of dog tags, John's from when he was in the Alliance, and the other set belonged to his father. Both of them were both his most important possession, they reminded him of just who he was, and why he was doing this, his father was one of the most understanding men in the galaxy, he would understand why John was doing what he was doing with his life.

A large explosion and some screaming from outside cut off John's thoughts immediately, he swiftly leapt from his bed and stepped out the door. In the short two minutes John had been inside, the colony had turned from peaceful, into a warzone, many of the colonists were now running around and screaming as bullets and explosions riddled the air. Horrific flashes of battles past sprang to John's mind, here he was, finally living a peaceful life on Eden Prime and then the next thing he knows it is being attacked. His N7 training kicked in, he swiftly leapt back inside and went straight for his locker, inside was an M7 Lancer and a HMWP pistol, as well as some heavy Onyx armour. Swiftly he pulled on the armour over his own colonist outfit, he placed the pistol on his hip and held his Assault rifle at the ready, he was about to step outside, but he looked back to the frame on the desk, he reached out and broke the glass of the frame and took out the two dog tags, placing them around his neck, he also grabbed the credit chit, not wanting to part with it.

"Watch over me, Dad." John said in a silent prayer. "I need your strength."

Feeling the new strength and courage fill him, John leapt from out of his loft, sprinting toward the action, he wasn't sure where it was exactly, it was all around them, but he figured most of it was coming from wherever the colonists were running. When he arrived at the scene, he spotted the 212, a squadron of Alliance soldiers posted on Eden Prime, had already dug into defensive positions just outside their barracks and were trying to push off the invaders. John wasn't sure just what he was looking at, an army of synthetics, but what were they doing on a human colony like this? He pushed the question from out of his mind and joined the 212, to many confused and surprised looks.

"N7? Is John an N7?" He heard one of them ask. He looks down to his armour and there it was, the N7 emblem in plain sight, truthfully he had forgotten that his Onyx Armour was also the same brand used by N7's.

"Cut the chatter!" John said sharply, now kneeling down behind the cover some of the 212 were camping behind. "What's the situation?"

"We're under attack! I'm not sure by what exactly, but I think they might be Geth!" One of the 212 said, he recognised her as Nirali Bhatia, a great chef and cook, with many stories to tell. "We lost our commanding officer in the first wave, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams is now presiding, she is currently at the dig site securing the beacon with the 232!" She looked up from cover and began to fire some accurate shots from her pistol, John watched as some synthetics fell.

Geth. They were a race of synthetics created by the Quarians as a labour force, that was 300 years ago, since they were created, they gained sentience and rebelled against their masters, forcing the Quarians to feel their home world. "You sure they are Geth?" John asked, aiming his assault rifle over the cover and letting loose a barrage of accurate bullets that managed to kill a few Geth.

"Positive." Nirali said, ever loudly as the firefight continued. "But what I want to know is why they are here? They haven't been beyond the veil in over 200 years!"

John stopped firing and his behind cover as his Lancer cooled down. "Good question." Then it quickly dawned to him. "The beacon!"

"The Prothean one?" Nirali asked. One of the men to their right yelled in pain as he was shot from cover, he slumped backwards and didn't move afterwards.

"The same. They must be here for it!" John replied. He aimed his cooled assault rifle over cover and began firing once more. "We have to protect the beacon at all costs! Get the rest of your unit to the dig site, I'll cover you!"

Nirali nodded. "Everyone, to the dig site! On the doub..." Her words were then cut short as a very accurate sniper shot pierced through her helmet, killing her instantly.

"Shit!" John cursed loudly. He stood at his full height and continued firing at the Geth. "Get to the dig site!" He yelled at the remaining soldiers behind cover. "Go!"

The soldiers all nodded, and one by one they all left the killzone, leaving John alone to deal with the remaining Geth. He felt as his assault rifle had overheated once more, he ducked behind cover once again and pulled out his pistol, he heard the shots cracking as they impacted with the stone wall he was hiding behind. He looked from behind cover to see just how many Geth he was dealing with, from what he saw most of them were all in a tight knit formation, each covering for the other as their own weapons cooled, a sniper had taken up a position on a roof, standing at full height with a full view of the killzone. He noticed the sniper lining up to shoot him and quickly pulled his head back into cover, a sniper shot passed through the air where John's head had been moments before.

With the group of Geth with the other providing overwatch, it would be difficult to get a clear shot in, the slightest sign of movement from John's position and they would open fire. A good thing about their tight knit formation was that the group could be taken down as a whole, if only he had some grenades then he could make short work of them. His prayers were answered, on a nearby deceased soldiers belt were a set of grenades, they appeared to be high explosive, so they would make short work of the Geth. Instead of taking a grenade, he took the whole belt from off of the soldier, swiftly he activated them all and they immediately began counting down, he only had one shot at this. He held the belt in his good throwing arm, the countdown was becoming rapid, he had to throw now. In a swift move he leapt out from his cover and threw the belt and grenades over toward the Geth, he ducked back into cover but not before a sniper round pierced through his shields and going clean through his shoulder. He couldn't help but grunt in slight pain as the grenades exploded, his adrenaline was pumping so much he could barely feel the pain in his shoulder, so it wasn't going to impede his efforts.

Taking a new chance, he peered out of cover to see what the grenades had done to the Geth, out of the group, three were left, two were both picking themselves up off the ground while the third kept overwatch. Now was a good a time as any for a counter attack, he swiftly leapt from cover, aiming his pistol to the sniper first, he fired several accurate shots which ended up killing it. The two on the ground had finally recovered and were now aiming their weapons at John, he fired some shots at them and they returned fire themselves. He leapt behind some low cover and pulled out his assault rifle, he leapt out from cover and took careful aim at the two Geth, he fired at the pair until his assault rifle had overheated, it had been enough as both Geth fell to the ground dead.

With the danger now passed, he holstered his Assault rifle, he took a careful look at his injured shoulder, fortunately it was only a flesh wound and some medi-gel would fix it right up. As he was near the 212 barracks, he entered them, seeking out some medi-gel an other supplies as he didn't have very many of his own, he tread carefully as some bodies were lying around, bodies of soldiers and colonists alike. He felt a surge of anger pound through him upon looking at their bodies, it reminded him too much of Akuze, and it was something he never wanted to relive again. Eventually John happened across some medi-gel and wasted no time in applying it with the pain quickly subsiding, he gathered some more as he would probably need it, there would be other soldiers and colonists out there that would need it. On his way out of the barracks, he noticed the half open weapons locker, on a chance he peered inside, there was only a Sniper Rifle and a Shotgun inside, which was perfect for John as he didn't own either and they could come in use, he pulled them out and strapped them onto his magnetic holsters.

Now was a good a time as any to help the soldiers that had gone to defend the beacon, he emerged from the barracks and broke into a sprint toward the dig site. He could hear the sounds of a firefight ahead, he continued to run while praying that the 212 and 232 were holding them off, as he got closer to the dig site, he could hear less and less weapons discharging, that could either be a good sign or a bad sign, he hoped it was good. He made it to the top of the hill that overlooked the dig site, his fears had been realised, from what he could now see, there were only two marines left fighting a battalion of Geth. John now had a choice, he could assist the pointless fight by laying down some sniper fire and most likely get killed in the process, or he could take the opportunity to gather some intelligence as no doubt the Alliance would be responding to this attack, he pulled out his Sniper Rifle and went into a prone position to give himself some cover, intelligence was his best option now. The marines had now both realised what John had as well, the fight was now pointless, they couldn't hold them off, he watched as the two began to flee, unfortunately one was gunned down as they fled, while the other managed to make it out of sight, unfortunately several Geth and some drones gave pursuit. John had recognised the one who had made it away, Ashley Williams, a gunnery chief for the 212, and now like John, she had become a sole survivor of a vicious attack. "God speed, Ashley." John muttered to himself.

He took his scope from where Ashley had run off to and trained it down to the dig site where many Geth had seemingly gathered around the beacon, it was almost as if they were worshipping it. Soon, John realised that they weren't worshipping, but rather taking orders from something, or someone out of sight, he watched as several of the Geth lifted the Prothean beacon and began to carry it away from the site. He put his sniper rifle away and began to follow them at a distance, keeping himself well hidden as there were many more Geth along the way, not only Geth, but strange husk like creatures, they had a lot of strange cybernetics glowing all over them, and they nearly resembled humans. He continued to follow the Geth to the tram station, they loaded the beacon onto one and then took defensible positions, John was far enough back not to get spotted so he was relatively safe with continuing his intelligence gathering. He watched as another tram pulled up beside the beacon and two larger Geth approached the beacon, they both lifted the beacon onto the tram that had just arrived on.

Suddenly a loud gunshot cut through the air, it almost made John jump and expose himself, but he kept his composure and remained hidden. He heard footsteps coming from behind him, he crouched lower behind the crates he was hiding behind and heard as the footsteps passed him by, he risked a look at what had just passed him, a watched as a Turian walked straight at the Geth on the tram, was this turian brave or stupid to try and take on the Geth like this, but the Geth didn't even raise their weapons at his appearance, then John realised what this meant. He felt his fists clench tighter and his jaw began grinding in both anger and hatred, it was the same Turian that John had encountered earlier. So it was this turian that was behind the attack, he was the one controlling the Geth, he was the one that had gotten many of the colonists and all but one marine killed, his gut instinct had been spot on, the Turian was trouble, but the Asari, Benezia was not with him, could she have been involved in all this as well?

The tram with the beacon then began to move, it was now speeding towards the space port, where the large Geth ship had just landed. It was very overwhelming for John to look at, it was massive, much bigger than any ship he had ever seen, much larger than the Kilimanjaro, the Alliance's largest and strongest dreadnought. He watched as sparks of red lightning were emitted from it in regular intervals, each one seemed to cause John to hear strange voices in his head, all trying to convince him of something, but he just ignored them. He wasn't going to let the tram get away, he pulled out his assault rifle and ran toward it, it had already sped out of sight, so it meant he had to take a new one to the same location, a tram that was protected by some Geth. Before they knew what had hit them, John had already gunned some down as he continued his reckless charge, they returned fire but it was pointless, John was on an adrenaline rush and there wasn't anything that could stop him at this point. The remaining Geth fell victim to John's relentless assault, the platform was now clear, he stepped onto the tram and activated the controls, the trams began to pull away then in no time at all, they were speeding towards the port, where the Geth and the Turian had taken the beacon.

The closer John got to the port, the louder the whispers in his mind came, they weren't words exactly and none of it made sense, it was a little disorienting. The tram soon pulled up to the port, the beacon had already been moved and there was no sight of the turian or the Geth. He swiftly got off the tram and began to search around for any sight of them, he couldn't help but pay an upward glance to the massive Geth ship that towered overhead, it might be possible they could be boarding a shuttle to take them up to the ship, so he decided to check one of the nearby docks. He managed to slip by a Geth patrol as he advanced on one of the docks, it seemed he was right, he peered around the corner to spot the beacon had been set up near the railing where the Geth ship was, but there was something strange happening to it, it was glowing and the green lines around it were pulsating. He watched as the turian drew closer to it, he was close enough so that he could hear the orders he had given to a Geth.

"Set the bomb to blow this colony, I don't want any evidence left behind to say that we were here."

The Geth left the turian and began to program a nearby bomb, John couldn't believe it, a bomb, they were going to detonate what appeared to by a high powered fission charge, more than enough to blow the entire colony halfway to hell. He silently cursed as he went back to watching the turian, they had now approached the beacon which was now reacting to his presence, the glow had become brighter and the pulses were more rapid, an invisible force seemed to pick the turian clean off the ground and keep him suspended in front of the beacon. The beacon seemed to calm down and the turian then dropped to the ground, whatever had happened seemed to have an effect on the turian as they didn't seem to be moving, two Geth appeared at their side and picked up the turian, they carried him over toward a nearby shuttle, which took off soon after, to the Geth ship. With the turian now onboard, the massive Geth ship began to lift off from the ground, leaving a heavily devastated area beneath it.

John continued to stare at the glowing beacon, just what had it done to that turian? Why had they done all this in the first place for some silly relic? It was too late to ask all those questions now, the turian was now gone. Then he realised something, the turian was gone, and the beacon was still here, was it carelessness, or was this the evidence he spoke of, either way, John knew what he had to do, disarm that bomb. There weren't very many Geth on the docks, he could easily take them in a head on fight, but he was more worried about the patrols he had slipped passed earlier, he didn't have much time to think, he would have to risk it.

Using the element of surprise to his advantage, John leapt down on the docks and began to open fire, shooting at any that came into the line of his assault rifles sight. The remaining Geth immediately responded by returning fire, but the firefight didn't last long, John managed to cut them all down, the rage in his system the fuel for his burning desire to seek revenge on the Geth and the turian that had bought pain and suffering to an innocent and peaceful colony. He immediately began to scan the area with his eyes, checking to see if any Geth were still alive, or more had come to reinforce their fallen, none came. Wasting no time, John leapt over to the bomb, fortunately for him it wasn't a complicated device, a simple hacking program on his omni-tool could stop the countdown, he bought up its holographic interface and began typing in several keys. The hacking program began its work, a progress bar was displayed and estimated that it would take just under one minute for a successful hack, it caused John to sweat a little as there was now only one minute left on the countdown. Needless to say, this was the longest minute of John's life, the hacking program had successfully gotten into the bombs trigger, John immediately input the command to stop the countdown. The countdown stopped immediately, with 3 seconds to spare, the biggest exhale of relief escaped John's mouth as he collapsed onto the bomb. "That was too close." He muttered to himself as he shut his eyes, taking deep breaths as he had been holding his breath the whole time.

"Alright, don't move!" Came a female voice.

John's eyes immediately snapped open, an all too familiar feeling swept over him, the feeling of knowing when a gun was pointed at you, but that wasn't all that was familiar, the voice was too.

"Hands behind your head and rise slowly!" She said again. He could then hear whispers behind him, just how many were behind him?

"Make up your mind, will you?" John couldn't help but say.

"Shut it! Now put your hands behind your head and rise slowly." A male voice said again. "Now!"

John complied, he placed his hands behind his head and slowly rose to his feet. He stood at his full height, wondering just what was going on behind him, his mind raced with scenarios, but he was in one that he wouldn't have even dreamed of.

"Turn around! Nice and slowly." Came the familiar female voice.

John slowly turned on the spot, turning to face those that had seemingly captured him. He spotted the man first, the look on his face was a very serious one, the face of the one next to him sent his mind into overload, the red hair, the green eyes, the freckles on her cheeks, of all the people in the Allaince, she was the very one he didn't want to see.

"John?" She lowered her pistol as the shocked look on her face grew by the second. "Is that you?"

"Hello, Jane." John replied simply.

* * *

**Fifteen minutes after Invasion.**

* * *

Jane leapt down into the ground, her pistol at the ready in her hands, Kaiden landed on her left, his own pistol at the ready while Jenkins landed on her right, his assault rifle in his hands. The cargo bay doors sealed shut behind them and the Normandy lifted off from the drop-off area. "Alright, you heard the captain." Jane began. "The beacon is our primary objective, as we don't know who is to blame for this attack, assume everyone is hostile. Got it?"

"Copy that, Commander." Kaiden said.

"Lets move!" Jane said, advancing forward and taking point, Kaiden and Jenkins bought up her rear and provided cover on her sides. The further they advanced, they noticed something smoking ahead, on closer inspection it appeared to be a burnt human body.

"What the hell is going on here?" She heard Jenkins mutter on her right.

"Hold up." Jane ordered, she dropped to her knee and looked around. "Jenkins, push forward to the treeline, tell me if you can spot anything from there."

"You got it, Commander." Jenkins replied. He swiftly left her side and began making his way forward, unfortunately in his haste to follow Janes orders, he didn't notice the two drones appear from the tree like and fire at him. The shots easily pierced his shields and armour, he slumped down onto the ground, not moving a muscle.

"Contact!" Kaiden shouted.

"Take them out!" Jane ordered, immediately firing her pistol at the drones that had just turned their weapons on them. Both Kaiden and Jane took down the first drone with ease. "Quick! Overload the second one!"

Kaiden's omni-tool activated and fired an electrical pulse at the second drone, the pulse overloaded its systems causing the unit to explode. With the danger now passed, he knelt down to examine Jenkins. "Damn things ripped right through his shields, he never stood a chance."

Jane couldn't help but sigh, she had never lost a man before as a direct result of her orders, what really tore into her was that he was a good soldier and had a promising career ahead of him. "We'll make sure he receives a proper burial, but we have to press on."

"Alright Commander." Kaiden said, knowing their mission came first.

"Thanks for understanding, Kaiden." Jane couldn't help but say as the two continued to advance into the tree line.

"Of course, Shepard, our mission comes first." Kaiden replied. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, lets focus." Jane said simply, keeping her pistol trained ahead of her, her body was glowing blue in preparation in case she needed to use her biotics.

"Of course, Commander." Kaiden replied.

As the two walked through the tree's, Shepard's comm came online. "_Commander. Do you read?_" It was Nihlus.

"I read you." Jane replied, activating her comms. "Go ahead, Nihlus."

"_Be careful ahead, I see a lot of bodies._" Nihlus said over the comms.

"Any clue as to who is behind this attack?" Jane couldn't help but ask.

"_Negative. Nothing in my area, what about you?_" Nihlus asked.

"I lost one of my men to a couple of drones." Jane replied. "I couldn't tell what make they were."

"_I see. Sorry about your loss, Commander, but we need to focus and find that beacon._" Nihlus said. "_I'll push on and we'll rendezvous at the dig site. Nihlus out._" The comms shut off after that.

Jane and Kaiden emerged into a clearing, they continued to advance, but the sound of gunfire caused the two to find cover where they could. The gunfire seemed to be chasing a lone figure as they ran away from some more drones, they tripped and fell down, leaving them defenceless. Jane and Kaiden both watched this happen then leapt into action, Kaiden fired an overload at one of the drones, while Jane flared her biotics and sent a powerful warp which cut through the drone and destroyed it. But it wasn't over yet, further beyond their sight, two synthetics were holding a colonist over a strange device, a large spike then impaled the colonist through the chest. A momentary lapse of character affected Jane, she couldn't help as a scream of shock escaped her lips, she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, she had never seen anything so horrific before and couldn't believe she had screamed like that.

The two synthetics had heard Jane scream, they both pulled out their weapons and advanced upon them. The marine that had fallen over before had pulled out her Assault rifle and didn't hesitate in firing at the synthetics, in the process she managed to kill the both of them.

Jane turned to look at Kaiden with terrified eyes, not because of what she had witnessed, but rather of what she had just done. "I'm so sorry, Kaiden!" She whispered.

"It's alright, Shepard." He said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It happens to the best of us."

Jane nodded, she had calmed down enough now and was relaxed, she didn't even notice the marine had approached the two of them. "Thanks for saving my life back there." She said.

"Likewise." Jane replied with a nod. "I apologise for screaming back there, I honestly don't know why I did it."

"It's fine, I would have too, if I could have found my voice that is." The marine said. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Gunnery Chief Ashley Willaims of the 212." She held out her hand.

"Good to meet you, Chief." Jane replied as she took her hand and shook it. "Commander Jane Shepard of the Normandy."

"Commander." Ashley said, acknowledging her superior officer by springing to salute.

"This is my Staff Lieutenant, Kaiden Alenko." Jane said, nodding to Kaiden on her left.

"Williams." Kaiden said, stepping forward and holding out his hand.

"Alenko." Ashley replied as she took his hand and shook it.

"Ashley." Jane said, cutting across the two and their introduction. "Can you tell us what's going on?"

"Oh man, where do I begin." Ashley said as she wiped her brow. "The attack came by complete surprise, we didn't even know it happened until they were right on top of us. Half of my squad was out on patrol when it hit."

"Who, or what are we dealing with here exactly?" Jane asked.

"Geth." Ashley said simply.

"It can't be." Kaiden quickly said. "They haven't been seen outside the Perseus Veil in over two hundred years. You're sure it's them?"

"I watched them kill most of my squad, I know what we're dealing with here." Ashley replied a bit coldly.

"Sorry Williams, I didn't mean to offend." Kaiden said, quickly excusing himself.

"What can you tell me about the Prothean beacon?" Jane asked.

"Wait, how do you know of the beacon?" Ashley quickly asked, the suspicion present in her voice.

"My mission is to recover the beacon and get it to the citadel for study." Jane said. "I arrived here on the Normandy five minutes ago, it was supposed to be a covert pickup, but that is no longer the case I'm guessing."

Ashley nodded, she understood and her suspicion was pushed from her mind. "It should still be at the dig site, it is just around the corner there." She pointed behind her where the path sloped downwards and to the right.

Jane nodded. "Alright Chief, we could really use your help. Are you up to the task?"

"Of course, Commander." Ashley replied, standing at attention. "It's time for some payback."

"Alright, lets move out." Jane said, bringing her pistol to the ready, Kaiden followed suit and Ashley with her assault rifle.

The trio began to make their way along the path to the dig site, they didn't encounter any more Geth along the way which was good for them. The arrived just outside the dig site, there were several Geth waiting around the perimeter and in the site itself.

"Hold on, where did the beacon go?" Ashley whispered.

"What?" Jane asked, in an equally quiet whisper.

"The beacon." Ashley whispered back, she had a clear view of inside the dig site. "It was sitting in the middle there, but its gone."

"They must have moved it." Kaiden said. "Any idea where?"

"The tram station over by the space port maybe?" Ashley said. "It leads right down to the space docks where that Geth ship is."

"Alright. We'll deal with these Geth and then we move to the tram station." Jane said. "Kaiden, give the nearest one a taste of your overload. I'll throw a singularity in to throw some off guard and Ashley you pick off the Geth that my singularity picks up. Clear?"

Both Ashley and Kaiden nodded. Kaiden leapt into action first, he fired an Overload at the nearest Geth, catching it by surprise and causing it to short out. Jane's turn now came, with the Geth in alert, she threw a singularity at the doorway, drawing in a nearby Geth and catching it in a radius of dark energy. With the Geth floating helplessly in the lack of gravity, Ashley timed her shots carefully and managed to kill the Geth with some precise bullets. With the threat quickly exterminated, the three moved into the ruins, looking around at the ancient structure and trying to get a sense of how things were.

"The beacon sat right here." Ashley said, standing in the centre on the ruins.

Jane nodded, she activated her comms. "Nihlus, it's Shepard."

"_Go ahead._" Came Nihlus' reply.

"The beacon is not at the dig site, it's been moved." Jane said. "Repeat, not at the dig site."

"_You're sure?_" Nihlus asked.

"I'm sure, I'm standing in the dig site now." Jane replied. "I picked up an Alliance marine that is stationed here on Eden Prime, she verified it and thinks it may have been taken to the tram station over by the space port."

"_Copy that, Commander. I'll make my way there instead._" Nihlus said. "_Nihlus out._"

"Wait, Nihlus!" Jane quickly said. "We know who, or rather what we are dealing with now, Geth."

"_Geth?_" Nihlus replied, sounding very surprised. "_Alright, thanks Shepard._" The comms shut off after that.

"Alright, lets keep moving." Jane said to Ashely and Kaiden.

Kaiden and Ashley both nodded and began to make their way out of the ruins with Jane, they made it to the top of the slope where they stopped as the saw more of the large spikes jutting up into the air. Strange human shaped creatures were impaled upon them. "What the hell are those things?" Ashley commented.

The spikes began to retract down, the strange husk like creatures slid off of them. "I think those things used to be human, or rather the colonists." Jane said

"Wait, so the Geth are turning the consists into those... Husks?" Ashley asked, horrified to hear what the Geth were doing.

The husk that slid off the spike then stood up, and slowly began moving toward them. "My god! They're still alive!" Kaiden said aloud.

The other husks also began to stand, it didn't take them long before the started running at the three. "Quick! Take them out!" Jane said, bringing her pistol around and shooting one of the husks.

Kaiden followed suit, however Ashley hesitated, she would be shooting the colonist's she was sworn to protect, or worse she could be shooting her former squad that had been at her side since her military career began. Jane and Kaiden had finished of the remaining husks, when Ashley regained her composure. "What happened back there, Chief?" Jane asked.

"Sorry Commander, I hesitated." Ashley said. "Those things... Were colonists."

"Exactly, were." Jane said. She stepped over to one of the dead husks and studied it carefully. "They aren't the colonists you knew, Ashley, hell they aren't even human. They are stuffed so full of cybernetics the only thing human about them is their shape, nothing more."

"I know, Commander, I just..." Ashley began. "It won't happen again."

Jane nodded and offered a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry I snapped before, but you can't afford to hesitate with those husks, they will kill you if you do, and I don't want that to happen. You're a good soldier, Williams, I can tell."

Ashely felt her lips curl into a small smile. "Thanks Commander, that means a lot. I won't let you down."

Jane nodded and returned the smile. "Alright Chief, lead the way."

Ashley nodded in return, she then pointed to the ridge ahead of them. "Just over the other side of that hill and we should be at the station."

"Lets move." Jane said as she broke into a run, Kaiden and Ashley both followed closely, all had their weapons in their hands at the ready.

They had just reached the top of the hill when they heard a gunshot echo all around them, they slid to a halt and began scanning the area in case the shot had been at them. "It's clear." Kaiden said.

"That shot must have come from the station." Jane said. "Double time people!"

The trio broke into a sprint, hoping to find out what had caused the shot and why they had shot. As they made their way down the hill, the now had a clear view of the space port, unfortunately for them a group of Geth and husks were between them and the main platform. The husks had already began running up the hill, the Geth held their positions. "Ashley. If you can use that Sniper Rifle on your back, take care of the Geth, the husks are ours."

"I'm on it!" Ashley replied, putting her Assault rifle away and drawing out her Sniper.

Jane and Kaiden had begun to pick off the charging husks, Jane had resorted to just using her biotics to hurl them around while Kaiden used a mixture of his pistol and tech abilities to bring them down. Ashley had already fired her first sniper round, it cleanly pierced through the Geth's shields and impacted with its power supply, causing the unit to topple over. Jane had now cast a singularity to cease the advancing husks, she had overpowered her biotic amp and was now forced to using her pistol. Ashley had managed to pick off the remaining Geth with her sniper rifle, her shields and armour had taken a beating from the return fire they gave, but she was safe. The final husk had succumb to Kaiden's strong overload and fell to the ground, dead.

Jane had barely taken two steps before Ashley spoke. "Wait, I see a body down there, but its not a human, it's a turian." She said.

"Turian?" Jane asked. She quickly snatched the sniper from Ashley's hands and peered down the scope, as Ashley said it was a turian body, a fairly familiar Turian. "Dammit, it's Nihlus. The Geth must have got him."

"Shit!" Kaiden cursed loudly. "Eden Prime gets attacked, We lose the Prothean beacon, and one of the Council spectres is dead. I can see who the council will blame already."

"Lets push on, if we can't find the beacon we might as well secure the colony until more Alliance reinforcements arrive." Jane said. She began to make her way down to the docks.

"Copy that, should we report to the Normandy?" Kaiden asked.

"Not yet." Jane said, now looking toward the massive Geth ship in the distance, it was still docked but not at this spaceport. It got her thinking.

"What are you thinking, Commander?" Kaiden asked, noticing her look of deep concentration.

"Seeing as that Geth ship hasn't left yet, the beacon may not be lost." Jane said. "If we are quick, we may be able to recover it."

"Good call, lets go get it back." Kaiden said.

Jane nodded, soon she came to a halt on the docks, she knelt down to investigate the body of Nihlus. "Single shot to the back of the head." Jane said. "I'm still finding this difficult to believe, Nihlus is one of the best, he wouldn't let his guard down like this."

"I've got movement behind those crates!" Ashley quickly said, she raised her assault rifle while Kaiden raised his own pistol to the crates sitting near them. "Come on out!"

A colonist came out from behind the crates, his hands in the air and a terrified look on his face. "Wait, wait! I'm human, see? Just like you!"

"Powell? What the hell are you doing here?" Ashley asked, lowering her assault rifle.

"I... I was hiding behind the crates." Powell said quickly, he was still terrified his voice was wavering. "I didn't want any Geth to find me."

"Well, it's lucky for you that we came along." Jane said, now standing up. "Did you see what happened to this turian?"

"I did, actually." Powell said. "There was another turian here."

"Another?" Jane asked.

"How many Turians came along on your mission?" Ashley couldn't help but ask, a little suspicion in her tone.

"Just one." Jane said to Ashley, she turned back to Powell. "What happened after?"

"Well, your Turian pal here seemed to know the other one and let his guard down, they mentioned something about 'the council', then this turian here." Powell motioned to Nihlus' body. "Turned his back on the other turian, and they, Saren I think his name was, shot this one in the back of the head."

Jane looked back down to Nihlus' body, he felt sorry for the deceased Spectre, to he gunned down by a fellow Turian in cold blood. "After he shot, where did he go?"

"Down to the tram station." Powell said. "He spoke to a Geth about a bomb on his way down there."

"Okay, thanks Powell, you've been a big help. Now get somewhere safe, we've managed to clear the Geth from here to the dig site."

"Yeah, good idea. I think I'll do that." Powell said, he got out of his hiding place and swiftly left the area.

"Alright you two." Jane said, now looking to both Kaiden and Ashley. "Lets move."

The trio sprang into action and made their way down to the trams, they were expecting a fight but instead walked past Geth that had already been killed. "What the hell happened here?" Kaiden said as he examined a dead Geth.

"I don't know." Jane admitted truthfully. "There might be some more colonists or marines alive and they could be putting up a fight, if they are then we need to hurry."

"Right behind you, Commander." Ashley said, eager to think that she might not be the only left alive in her squad.

Jane approached the tram controls, she input their destination just as Kaiden and Ashley joined her, the tram took off at a swift pace, speeding them toward the Geth ship, which was now just beginning to take off. As the tram continued along on its journey, Kaiden spoke "Powell mentioned a bomb, Shepard. What are we going to do about that, neither of us had the expertise to disarm one."

"I can do it." Ashley quickly interjected. "I've had training in arming and disarming fuses, well, not really training. Some engineers taught me how to do it all at one of my previous postings."

"Alright, when we get to our destination, Ashley will focus on disarming the bomb, Kaiden and I will provide cover against any resistance that will try and stop us." Jane said.

"Copy that." Kaiden said, his pistol held readily in his hands.

The tram was beginning to slow, they were nearing their destination. Jane now held her pistol in a ready position as she the. began to glow blue with dark energy, her biotics were ready for combat use. The tram came to a complete stop at a lower station, the trio quickly disembarked and began to make their way up to the upper levels. They heard the sounds of a firefight nearby, there must be some more putting up a resistance. A nearby Geth patrol could be seen hurrying over toward the firefight, but Jane wasn't having any of it, she manipulated her dark energy and threw a powerful biotic power that picked up one of the Geth and threw it hard against the wall. The rest of the patrol came to a stop and turned their weapons on Jane then began to fire, but Jane had already taken cover, along with Ashley and Kaiden.

"I'll throw in a singularity, you two quickly take them out." Jane ordered.

Ashley and Kaiden both nodded in understanding, Ashley had her Assault Rifle at the ready while Kaiden began to glow blue with biotic power also. Jane left her cover, she manipulated her biotic power once again and threw a ball of dark energy into the middle of the Geth patrol, it rapidly expanded outwards, creating a weightless environment within its radius, anything not secured to the ground was picked up and began to float around helplessly. Many of the Geth were caught helplessly in the singularity, while the rest began to advance toward them, keeping up the pressure by constantly firing at their cover.

"Dammit!" Jane cursed loudly as she ducked behind cover. "I thought the singularity would catch them all."

"I got this, Commander!" Kaiden quickly said, he stood from cover and threw out his hand which released a powerful wave of dark energy, a biotic field quickly emerged around the remaining Geth, which all immediately ceased moving.

"A stasis field, good thinking Kaiden." Jane said, praising his efforts.

"Quick! Take them out!" Kaiden said, his voice a bit strained with the concentration of maintaining the stasis field.

Jane nodded. "Ash." She said. "Lets take them out."

"Hell yes." Ashley said, she began to fire her Assault rifle at the helplessly floating Geth, but stopped firing momentarily. "Commander." She began firing once more.

Jane couldn't help as a small smirk came across her face, she was beginning to like Ashley more and more, if the opportunity presented itself, she thought maybe Ashley might be suitable as part of the Normandy crew. She aimed her pistol and began to shoot the immobilised Geth, soon after the biotic powers faded, causing the now dead Geth to fall to the ground. "Good job everyone. Lets find that bomb." Jane said, beginning to move out once again.

The trio continued to move through the docks "Commander, you hear that?" Kaiden said as they continued to make their way.

"No, what is it?" Jane asked.

"No more shots being fired, that firefight must have ended." Kaiden said.

Jane realised that Kaiden was right, in her haste to get to the bomb, she didn't realise that it had indeed stopped, that could either mean those putting up the fight had won, or the Geth had successfully held them off. "Double time!" Jane said, breaking into a sprint.

Jane ran across the docks, not running into any more Geth, she rounded a corner and proceeded to the outer docks. When she spotted all the dead Geth laying about the upper and lower platform, she skidded to a halt, as it turned out the Geth had been beaten, but where was the team responsible? Kaiden and Ashley swiftly appeared at her side and began looking around in surprise. "Over there, it's the bomb." Kaiden said, pointing over toward it.

Ashley looked over toward it, and she happened to notice that someone was kneeling beside it, she couldn't tell who they were as they had their back to them. "Who the hell is that?" She asked.

Jane too had looked over to the bomb and the stranger, she didn't know why, but even though she couldn't tell who they were, a sense of familiarity washed over her. She began to walk down to the lower docks where the bomb rested, but she was swiftly stopped by Kaiden grabbing her arm. "Wait, Commander!" He said quietly. "We don't know who he is, for all we know he could be working with the Geth."

"Then why are they all dead?" Jane asked. "We don't have time to argue, that bomb could be going off at any second, and we need to stop it."

Kaiden let her arm to and stepped back, realising just what he had done. "Sorry, Commander."

Now that Kaiden had let her go, she continued to make her way down to the lower docks and over toward the bomb, Kaiden and Ashley followed closely behind her, their weapons ready in case something should happen.

"That was too close." They could hear this man say as he collapsed onto the bomb.

Even his voice felt familiar to Jane, but she just couldn't pin it to anybody she knew. If he had disarmed the bomb, then now was her time to act. "Alright, don't move!" She said as she aimed her pistol at this human.

Ashley moved to Jane's side and whispered into her ear. "What are you doing, Commander?"

"I don't know." She whispered back, she then spoke again toward the man. "Hands behind your head and rise slowly!" Jane said, keeping her distance as well as her pistol trained on him. She wasn't sure why she was taking this man prisoner, whoever they were, they had just saved the colonies and their lives, perhaps it was more fear of the unknown.

"Make up your mind, will you?" The man retorted

"Shut it! Now put your hands behind your head and rise slowly." Kaiden said, his own pistol trained on the man now.

The man complied, he placed his hands behind his head and slowly rose to his feet, he stood at his full height, awaiting further instructions.

"Turn around! Nice and slowly." Jane said.

He slowly turned on the spot, turning to face those that had seemingly captured him. When Jane was finally able to see his face, it sent her mind into overload, the all familiar blue eyes, the strong and rugged posture, the nearly shaven head with the scar from his hairline above his left temple. "John?" Jane lowered her pistol as the shocked look on her face grew by the second. "Is that you?"

"Hello, Jane." John replied simply.

"I..." She began, words had failed her, John, her older brother that had turned his back on her, their parents and the Alliance, stood before her.

"Wait." Ashley began. "Commander, you know who this is?"

"Yes, she does." John spoke up, lowering his hands so he could fold his arms. "I'm her older brother."

"No way." Ashley said, she looked to Jane for answers. "Is he for real?"

Jane simply nodded, she was still staring at John in disbelief, was this where he had been hiding the entire time? Slowly she began to find her words. "John. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I live here, or have been for the past few months." John said, an annoyed expression plastered across his face. "Look, I know why you're here. You've come to pick up that." Without unfolding his arms, he pointed over toward the Prothean beacon, which was still glowing from its previous use.

Jane looked over to where John was pointing, she couldn't believe it, the Prothean beacon sat near the railing of the docks, behind it was a devastated landscape. "The Beacon!" Jane said breathlessly.

"Yeah, the beacon!" John said grimly. "Some turian used it before, that's why it's glowing like that."

"Turian?" Kaiden asked. "Was their name Saren by chance?"

"I wouldn't have a clue." John said. "I never got a name."

Ashley had began to ask questions of John, Jane however had activated her comms to the Normandy. "SSV Normandy, this is Commander Shepard, do you copy?"

"_I read you, Commander._" Came Jokers reply. "_What can I do for you?_"

"We have secured the beacon, mark my locations and pick us up." Jane replied. "I'll need to meet the captain in the cargo bay when you arrive, can you inform him?"

"_Right, I'll pass that along._" Joker said. "_We'll be at your position in three minutes. Over and out._"

Jane shut off the comms, she didn't realise that she was now standing in front of the beacon, it was really a beautiful sight to behold, the glowing green seemed to have a calming aura to it. Something began to speak to her inside of her mind, it seemed to be a call of some sort, was the beacon speaking to her? Suddenly some invisible force grabbed her, it seemed to be pulling her toward the beacon, she struggled to get away from it, but it only seemed to pull her in more.

John, who had been answering Kaiden and Ashley's questions, paid a glance over their shoulders to see what Jane was doing. A shocked and scared look spread across his face when he saw that the beacon had taken ahold of her, she saw what it had done to the turian, and was scared it might kill Jane. Even though he didn't want anything to do with his family, it didn't mean that he didn't love them, or want to see them get hurt. "Jane!" He yelled as he roughly pushed past both Kaiden and Ashley, even his voice was scared.

The beacon had just begun to lift Jane up, she still tried struggling against it, but it was futile, it now had her. She was scared, what was this beacon and what was it going to do to her? Suddenly she felt a massive weight crash into her and rip her down from the beacons influence, she was then thrown to the ground safely away from the beacon. She looked up to see that John had safely thrown her from harms way, but now the beacon had taken him. "John!" She screamed, fearing the worst was going to happen to him. She scrambled from her feet to go and help him, but she found herself restrained by two sets of arms, Ashley and Kaiden had both taken ahold of her to stop her from rescuing John.

"It's too risky, Commander!" Kaiden said in a strained voice, even with the combined efforts of both Ashley and himself, keeping Jane restrained proved to be quite a task, she was strong for a woman of her size.

"Let me go!" Jane snarled at the two, struggling to break free. "I have to save him!" She watched helplessly as John was now suspended in mid-air, his arms held out wide and a very pained look on his face, she wanted to save him so desperately.

The beacon unexpectedly exploded, sending a strong shockwave outwards that knocked the trio down, as well as threw John hard onto the ground. An erie silence then fell over the docks after that, Jane immediately sat up and looked to John, he wasn't moving and it terrified her, what had the beacon done to him exactly, had it killed him? She quickly scampered over to John, searching for signs of life, she pressed two fingers up under his jaw, hoping to find a pulse, when she felt the weak throbbing, a massive wave of relief spread through her. "John?" She asked. "John, are you alright?"

He didn't stir, we was unconscious and nothing Jane did now would wake him. She could feel her eyes watering slightly, she had only just gotten back the brother she had missed so deeply for five years, and the thought of losing him was a hell she didn't want to ever have to go through, not again.


	3. Chapter 2

**Mass Effect: Intertwining Fates**

**Chapter 2 - To The Citadel**

* * *

_Flashes. Constant flashes of images passed racked John's brain, with them they bought feelings of pain, suffering, fear and death. Inside of his own mind he watched as strange Synthetics mercilessly killed an organic race, but John didn't recognise them as any species that he knew of. Everything then reset, the images had become looped and now he was watching all that he had seen before, he could hear a voice speaking, but the language was unlike any other._

The flashes of the visions quickly faded as he was bought back to his senses by someone clicking their fingers in front of John's eyes. "Did you hear what I asked?" An annoyed female voice said.

John's eyes came back into proper focus, he had a clear view of the medical bay in which he sat. He shook his head slightly as if to shake the visions from his head, but it didn't help the splitting headache that always followed. "I'm sorry, what?"

An annoyed sigh followed. "Was it those visions again?"

"Yeah." John nodded, groaning slightly at the sudden head movement he had performed. "They just keep appearing at random." He then began to massage his temples with his fingers, the headaches were a constant pain, and it didn't help that the visions made no sense whatsoever. "Can you give me some more painkillers, Doctor... Doctor..." For the life of him, he couldn't quite remember the doctors name even though he had heard it plenty of times.

"Chakwas." She replied. "And I daren't give you any more painkillers otherwise you may overdose on them."

Shepard groaned again. "Well, can you give me something to numb the pain at least?"

"Yes, give me a minute and I'll apply some medi-gel, it won't stop the pain, but it will lessen it." Chakwas said, activating her omni-tool and administering a dose of medi-gel, as she said, it didn't stop the pain, but it did numb it down a bit. "Better?"

"Yeah, much better. Thanks doc." John replied with a smile of gratitude.

"Now, as I was saying before, please take your armour off, the captain has requested you undergo a physical before we reach..." Chakwas began, the door to the medical bay had opened and two people had stepped inside. "Oh, Captain Anderson, Commander Shepard." She saluted the two officers that had just entered her medical bay.

"At ease, Doctor." Anderson said. "We just came to check in on Shepard here." He gave a nod to John sitting on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling, son?" He asked with genuine concern in his voice.

"Like the morning after shore leave." John replied. "Only twice the pain, and none of the good memories."

Anderson couldn't help but chuckle lightly. "I'm sure the good doctor can give you something for that." He nodded to Chakwas. "Is he good to talk?"

"Yes, but don't strain his mind too far, it's already in enough distress as it is." Chakwas said. "I have some reports to finish up, I'll leave you three to talk." She exited out the door and into her office.

"Shepard." Anderson began. "I've been speaking to the Commander and the ground team on Eden Prime. I have heard their side of the story, but not yours. Care to share?"

"I don't think I can be of much help." John admitted.

"Much help?" Jane suddenly spoke up. "You found the Prothean beacon, recovered it, single handedly chased down Saren, killed a lot of Geth in the process and disarmed the bomb before it could destroy the colony." If he hadn't known his sister so well, he knew just how lethal her tone really was, she wasn't praising his efforts, she was angry with him.

"That was just my survival training." John said in his defence. "Nothing special."

"Nothing special?" Jane said loudly, her tone was beginning to rise as was her temper.

"Take it easy, Commander." Anderson said, quickly stepping between the two. He knew of the Shepard's family history and knew this could escalate quickly. "Whatever issues you two have can be worked out later, right now we have to finish the debriefing, before we get to the Citadel, and we're an hour out."

"The Citadel?" John asked. "Wait, an hour out?"

"Yes, you were out for fifteen hours before you woke up an hour ago." Anderson said. "We are bringing you to report directly to the Council. You are an eye witness for the whole attack on Eden Prime, not to mention you were the one who found the Prothean Beacon, they will have some questions for you."

John couldn't help but sigh, he hated how he was being bought into a political shitstorm, but Anderson was right. "Where is it?" He asked. "The Beacon I mean."

John watched as a look of guilt then spread across Jane's face, and he knew something bad must have happened. "It was destroyed, back when..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Back after you pulled the Commander out of its influence." Anderson said, taking over for Jane. "What did it do to you?"

"I saw visions, flashes of things. It was all broken and it didn't make any sense." John replied simply.

"What did you see?" Anderson asked again.

"I saw... I don't know what I saw." John admitted, it had all happened so quickly, and even now he still couldn't piece it all together. "I remember seeing War. Death. Destruction. Synthetics killing organics."

"Was it the Geth?" Anderson asked.

"Not Geth, no." John said as he shook his head. "Something more, something much more powerful, I could feel the fear of the organics. I could hear the same whispers in my mind when I was under that Geth ship."

"What about the organics?" Anderson asked again.

"Sorry, they aren't a race that I recognised." John said, shaking his head again. "If I had to guess, it could be the Protheans."

"The Protheans?" Anderson asked, surprise flourishing in his voice. "What makes you say they are Protheans?"

"Well, this vision came from a Prothean beacon, didn't it?" John replied. "Why not the Prothean's."

Anderson folded his arms and began to think out loud. "It is possible, with all the councils extensive research, not even they know what a Prothean looks like."

"You'd think a race that built the Mass Relays and the Citadel would leave a statue of themselves to say 'We did this, worship us.' " John said, hoping his joke wouldn't be lost on deaf ears. Unfortunately, it was. Anderson and Jane still had stern expressions on their face, though Jane had gone back to staring daggers at John.

"I'll have to report this to Admiral Hackett before we reach the Citadel." Anderson said. "This was an Alliance operation after all, even if it was under orders from the Council. I'll see you both up in the cockpit before we disembark."

With a swift salute, Jane acknowledged her superior officers order as they left the med bay, now it was just John and her. "So..." She began, rather sharply.

"Surprise." John said in a weak voice.

"Five years, John." Jane said again, her voice beginning to increase in volume. "Five years, and all you can say is surprise?"

John just raised his eyebrows and looked around with guilt coursing through him, trying to avoid her eyes. "Sorry for not calling on your past four birthdays?"

"Do you have any idea what you put me, mum and dad through?" Jane half yelled. "We were all worried sick about you, we thought you had died. Instead you were hiding away on Eden Prime."

"Jane..." John began, he was beginning to get annoyed and made to rise from his bed, but was pushed back onto it.

"Don't you 'Jane' me." Jane said very fiercely, it almost scared John. "We were all worried sick about you, we tried to find you, what if something had happened to one of us? You know what, don't answer that, I already know the answer to that, you won't even show up to our funeral's, you weren't even at dads!" Her voice had now escalated to

yelling, she didn't even seem to care that her eyes had become so watery that they were in the verge of creating a river.

"Hey!" John said loudly. "Do you really think I'm that heartless? I loved you guys, all so much, and I wouldn't ever dream of never paying my final respects to my own family!"

"Then why weren't you at Dad's funeral?" Jane screamed at him. "Why weren't you there when he died? THAT WAS WHEN I NEEDED YOU THE MOST!"

John made to answer, but the office door at the back of the med bay opened and out stormed the good Dr. Chakwas. "I must insist you both stop yelling. Commander, I told you not to over stress his mind, if you continue to yell then I will had to force you to leave this medical bay." The door then shut after that, leaving the two in a stunned silence, neither realised they had been heard.

"Sorry John, I just..." Jane said as she made to apologise. She reached up to wipe the tear that had trailed down from her watery eyes.

John however had had enough, he stood from the medical bed and made to storm out, before he did, he took off a pair of the dog tags he still wore under his armour and shoved them roughly into Jane's chest. "I was there, I was just too damn ashamed to be seen by any of you." He said quietly with deep remorse. He then left Jane alone as he exited the med bay, pushing past Kaiden who had seemingly come over to investigate the source of the yelling.

Jane had gripped whatever it was that John had pushed onto her chest, when he left she opened her hand to see just what it had been. It was their fathers dog tags, had John really been holding onto something like this for so long? She couldn't help as fresh tears slowly began to pour down her eyes, she had gone on the past five years thinking that John had just abandon them all, but here she held proof that all she had thought was a lie, he did care.

Kaiden then come over to comfort the grief stricken Commander, bringing over some water from a nearby dispenser. "Commander. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Jane replied, swiftly wiping away her tears, she didn't others to see her as a wreck. "Just... Family stuff."

"Sorry, Commander." Kaiden apologised. "I don't mean to intrude on family affairs."

Jane took the water and disk hesitate in draining it, all the yelling had really dried her throat. "It's fine Kaiden. It's all so complicated."

"Here, sit down and tell me all about it, off the record." Kaiden offered. Sitting down on the recently vacated medical bed and patting the spot beside him. "It will make you feel better."

Jane complied without any hesitation, she sat on the bed beside Kaiden. "It will be easier if I start with John's story." She began. "Do you know Akuze? And what happened there?"

"Akuze." Kaiden thought outloud. "Yeah, it's a colony out on the edge of Alliance space. I remember about six years ago an entire settlement and platoon of marines were killed in a Thresher Maw attack."

Jane had wiped the tears from her eyes now, she hated to show emotion around others, but at times like these she couldn't help herself. "That's mostly true." She said. "John, my brother, was the commanding officer of those marines. They were sent to investigate why the settlement had gone dark. That night, a thresher maw attacked John's unit, from what he said they all fought bravely, but they were overcome and all but John were killed."

"That's..." Kaiden began, but he couldn't find any words to describe the shock that he felt. "I didn't know anyone had survived Akuze. How did he do it?"

"I don't know." Jane said simply. "Even he doesn't know, he just survived and made it to the landing zone for extraction."

"What happened after that?" Kaiden asked.

"The Alliance promoted him, and sent him off for N7 training." Jane said, her sympathy for everything John had gone through still ran deep. "But that isn't the worst of it. John pleaded with the Admiralty board to have his men posthumously promoted for bravery and valour along with reparations for the families of his platoon."

"I'm guessing that didn't go over too well." Kaiden commented.

"At every turn, he was stonewalled by the Admiralty board, they believed it a waste of credits." Jane said, again feeling the deep sympathy that ran deep. "Instead all the families got were template letters of unsympathetic words informing them of their loss. No offer of support or counselling."

"How did your brother put up with it all?" Kaiden couldn't help but ask. "Any lesser man would have crumbled long ago."

"Again, I don't know. Since then, he kept things really close to the chest, before that he was as happy as anything. Akuze changed John, in so many ways." Jane said, her tears had dried up, but threatened to return the more she spoke about her brothers unjust treatment. "There were some who supported John in his fight for his platoons honour, Captain Anderson, Admiral Hackett, Admiral Kahoku and our father to name a few people. But in the end, it wasn't enough and he left the Alliance and N7 in protest, shortly after he cut contact with all those closest to him, our parents and myself included."

"This really struck him all hard, didn't it?" Kaiden asked. "From what you've told me, Commander, your brother is a strong man with a good heart."

Jane paid Kaiden a quick appreciative smile. "He is, I just..." She began. "I just want to know why he cut contact with us, we searched everywhere for him, even more so after our father died. John and Dad were the best of friends even though they were father and son, and I thought John would have wanted to pay his final respects. But in the end..." She looked down to the dog tags, their fathers tags. "He did come. I resented him for so long for not paying his final respects to our dad, but he did. All I want to do now is apologise, I've gotten my brother back and I don't want to lose him again, I still care about him so much."

* * *

******-S-**

* * *

John had sworn never to set foot on an Alliance vessel if he couldn't help it, to him the Alliance was nothing but a joke. They said they had humanities best interests in mind, but all it was to John was just shit pouring out of their mouths for all their political bulshit. Ever since he had stormed out of the med bay, he aimlessly wandered, he wasn't sure for how long but he was trying to find a place where he could gather some peace and quiet, eventually he happened across the starboard observation deck, it was quiet and nobody was inside. He slipped inside and shut the door behind him, he took a seat and stared out the window into the empty void of space, even when he was younger, raised on the stations and Alliance ships his parents served on, he always felt a calming sensation when he stared out into the stars.

John's calming and relaxation came to a sudden stop when he heard the door open behind him and someone step inside the observation deck. He had a feeling as to who it was. "Look Jane, I just want to be left alone right now, so get lost."

"Well, that's just plain rude." Came a different female voice.

Realising that it wasn't his sisters voice, he turned to look at who he had just spoken to. "Ashley?" John said as he looked to the familiar brunette. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just trying to find a quiet place where I could be alone." Ashley answered.

"No, I meant what are you doing on this ship?" John reiterated. "They taking you to the council as well?"

"Yeah, they are but thats only half the reason I'm here. The Normandy is my new posting." Ashley said in a cheerful mood, she had taken a seat next to John and took to staring out the window like he had been doing. "Captain Anderson called in a few favours, and now, here I am, serving on the Alliances most advanced warship."

"So the brass are finally letting you serve on a warship." John said, thinking back to the conversations he and Ashley used to share back when Eden Prime was at peace. "Good job, I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, I'm pretty happy about it myself." Ashley said with a smile. "I'm just glad I could finally get over all that stonewalling. But I hate how it is that I got here." Her thoughts immediately rushed back to her fallen squad, each of them had bravely given their lives for the defence of the colony, and their home. She would never forget what their noble sacrifices.

"Yeah, I guess you're one of the lucky ones." John couldn't help but say, a little bitterly

"What's that supposed to mean exactly?" Ashley said, feeling a little defensive at his sudden change in tone.

Even with all the conversations the two had had back on Eden Prime, he had not shared the story of his abandonment from the Alliance, it was something that really ran deep for him and he didn't like speaking about it. "It doesn't matter." John said sharply, hoping to dismiss the topic. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with anyway."

"John, what has gotten into you?" Ashley said, surprised at his complete change in attitude. "Usually you loved coming to me and talking about everything, and I loved listening. Now it doesn't concern me? What's going on, is this to do with all that yelling I heard just before?"

"Wait, you heard all that?" John couldn't help but ask, he had thought and hoped the argument with his sister had gone on unnoticed by the rest of the crew.

"The whole ship heard it." Ashley said. "What was that about anyway?"

"Just my sister over reacting." John said. His guilt still ran deep over his abandonment from his own family, but he wasn't going to show any weakness. "We haven't seen each other for five years, we didn't even make contact, well I didn't anyway, she tried to."

"Five years? That's a long time, what happened that you didn't speak to her?" Ashley couldn't help but ask.

"Sorry Ashley, I really don't want to talk about it." John said, now avoiding her eyes and staring back out into the void of space. "So many things that can never be unsaid." He softly whispered to himself.

Watching John avoid eye contact told Ashley whatever had gone on between the two was painful, so she didn't press the matter. Instead, she decided to try and change the subject. "You know, I'm quite surprised with you John." She began. "You sister, the great Commander Shepard, Hero of Elysium. I didn't even know you two were related."

"Yes, she's my younger sister." John admitted, in a dull tone, even after seven years, he was still 'Jane Shepard's Brother' a title he had earned since she had saved Elysium back in 2176.

"But you two don't even have the same last name." Ashley pointed out. "Unless you both had the same mother or something."

John had a feeling this little detail would catch up with him, for a long time, John had gone by a different last name, so as to not be tracked down by any that wished to find a Shepard. "Same mother and father." He said.

"So you're telling me that you're actually John Shepard? Not John van der Wyk?" She began, but John had cut her off.

John had gone by the name van der Wyk for almost four years now, before that he had changed it so often so as to not be found. "Ashley, please." John said sharply. "I said I didn't want to talk about it."

Ashley went silent, she had known John ever since he had moved to Eden Prime almost a year ago, the two of them had gotten along quite well, and she found it nice that she had made a friend outside of her Alliance unit. What really struck her as odd was that John was very talkable, he loved to be the centre of attention and never had anything to hide, but everything she knew about him had changed since the two had been sitting in the observation deck. It was only fair, everyone had secrets and why should John be any different? Deciding that she was now creating a friction between the two, she got up to leave John in peace. "Well, in any case. It's good to see you up and about, you had me worried for a while back there."

He couldn't help but sigh, he knew Ashley was just trying to help him, and he appreciated the thought and gesture, but these were his problems and he didn't want them to become anyone else's. "Wait, Ashley." John said quickly, grabbing her arm to keep her with him. "I'm sorry, it's just that some terrible things happened to me some years ago. I don't want to go into it, but I understand how you feel, being the Sole Survivor of a horrendous attack, and if you ever need to talk, or vent, I'll be there for you." He let go of her arm, he had said what he needed to say.

An appreciative smile spread across Ashley's face. "Thanks John, that means a lot. I might just take you up on that offer when we get to the Citadel."

"Sounds good. Meet you at one of the hard after we speak to the council?" John suggested.

"If you're buying, then sure." Ashley couldn't help but joke.

John couldn't help as his face turned into a soft smile, it felt as though he hadn't smiled in years with everything that had gone on. However there was something present in John's mind. "Ashley. I have to ask you something." He said."What happened to you? How did you manage to survive such impossible odds while all your squad were killed?" If she had an answer, then maybe it would help him on the road to figuring out how he had survived, it was a terrible ghost that had plagued him all these many years, how he had survived such impossible odds, while his friends and allies were ruthlessly killed all around him.

Ashley sat back down. "I don't know. I just followed my instincts and training, it somehow got me through, but I would be dead if it wasn't for your sister."

It wasn't the answer he had hoped for, but in the end he was just going to leave it for now. "She saved your life?" John couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah." Ashley answered with a nod. "Some Geth Drones were chasing me down, next thing I knew they had been shot down, if not for her and Kaiden, they would have killed me."

"Well, I guess I should go thank them later." John said, trying to put back on his usual facade. "Can't be going and losing my best friend now, can I? I'd have no one to talk to otherwise."

"Oh please." Ashley waved off the ego stroke. "There are plenty of other people here to talk to."

Truth was, John hadn't been joking. With him constantly on the move, he never had any real stability, and it made things difficult to find someone you could come to rely on. That changed when he arrived on Eden Prime, the colony practically welcomed him with open arms and treated him as if he had been living there for years. Feeling his thoughts fall back to the colonists suddenly made him very angry, so many good and innocent people slaughtered needlessly. He was going to hunt down that turian, Saren, and make him pay for all the lives taken away by him and his Geth. "I'm sure there are, but I won't have any time for talking after we meet with the council." John said, his face and voice getting angrier by the second. "I'm going to hunt down that turian, Saren, and I'm going to kill him, he is going to pay for what he did today."

"Sign me up for some of that action." Ashley said in an agreeable tone, her thoughts wandering back to the good men and women she had lost under her command, and felt a surge of anger toward the turian.

John couldn't help but smile a little. "Joking or not, you should stay here. You have finally gotten to where you want to be in your career, best not tempt fate and ruin it."

"Wait, you were actually serious?" Ashley asked. "I thought you were joking."

"Not about this." John replied in a serious voice. "That turian bastard is going to pay, one way or another. I want to make sure of that."

"John." Ashley began. "Running off on some kind of vendetta isn't something you should do, avenging the colonists won't bring them back."

"But..." John began to protest. "You just said..."

"I know what I just said." Ashley quickly said. "Like you, I'm absolutely wild over what Saren did, and given the chance I'd put a bullet in his brain. But he is a council Spectre, it's out of our hands."

"He's what?!" John yelled in surprise, he knew who the Spectre's were and who they worked for, but he wouldn't deny that he was caught completely off guard by Ashley's statement.

"I know, right?" Ashley said as her look went cold. "I did the same thing when I found out who he really was."

John immediately felt a wave of mistrust flow through him, Spectre's operated outside the law and answered only to the council, if that were the case then it might have been possible the council were behind the entire thing. "I have to go." He said quickly, immediately standing up.

"What are you doing?" Ashley couldn't help but ask.

John didn't answer, he left the observation deck and began to walk around, looking for one in particular. As he didn't know the ships layout at all, he ended up walking in circles, always finding his way back to the mess hall. In the end he sucked up his pride and asked a passing by crew member. "Excuse me." He said. "I'm trying to find Anderson, any idea where he is?"

"In his quarters I believe." The crew member replied. "They are just over there." They pointed over toward a door that sat just over to their right, John noticed that it sat across the opposite side of the med bay.

"Thanks." John said in an ungrateful manner. He approached the door, without announcing his arrival, he barged in without a single care.

Anderson had been sitting down at his desk, using the terminal, when John entered he turned to see who it was. "Explain your actions, barging into the commanding officers quarters without announcing yourself is a punishable offence."

"Good thing I'm no longer in the Alliance then." John sharply retorted. "I want some answers, now."

"To what?" Anderson said as he stood up, John's intimidation failing to faze the hardened veteran.

"Like why the hell a Spectre was on Eden Prime." John replied loudly.

"Alright, I'll tell you why. But this is purely confidential what I am about to tell you." Anderson began. "Would you like to take a seat?"

"I'll stand." John said sharply, he folded his arms as he waited for an explanation.

"As you are well aware, what you found on Eden Prime was a Prothean beacon. Finding an intact one would be a huge find for the System's Alliance, and would hopefully improve relations with the council." Anderson explained. "The council sent a Spectre to help with its recovery so it could be taken to the Citadel for study as Eden Prime did not have the facilities to study it. But that was only half the reason why the council sent one of their best Spectres along with us on the Normandy's maiden voyage."

John was getting a little confused, this story made no sense to him, Anderson was speaking about someone different to whom he had encountered, because he knew the captain wouldn't let some crazed turian on his ship. But being every bit as nosy as he was, he decided to press it a little more. "Go on."

"Nihlus, who was the Spectre the council sent, was also sent to evaluate your sister." Anderson continued.

"Jane?" John quickly interrupted. "Why?"

"The Alliance, and Nihlus, put her name forward as a human Spectre candidate. If she were accepted into their ranks, it would prove that humanity is ready and it will give us more say in interstellar policy."

John couldn't help but roll his eyes, of course the Alliance was hoping to use this as a political gain. "Why am I not surprised, using my sister as the Alliance's poster girl for their own damned gains."

Anderson knew of John's attitude toward the Alliance all too well, he truly sympathised for what had happened to him on Akuze. He had been a good family friend of the Shepard family, and had always regarded John as the son he had never had. "John." He began, he hardly ever referred to him by his first name, it had always been 'son' or 'Shepard'. "Your sister is a damned hero, not because the Alliance made her that way, she did it all herself. This isn't just a political game, it is a chance for her to further herself beyond any soldiers wildest dreams, this is something she deserves."

"Alright, I understand. But I still don't like it." John said. "Anyway, continue."

Anderson nodded. "I don't really need to explain that much more as the doctor explained most of what happened with the ground team."

"Alright, then what happened to Nihlus? If he really is a council Spectre then he should be stalking me to find out about that damned beacon." John asked, still in his cold attitude.

"Nihlus was killed on Eden Prime." Anderson said, his tone dropping a little. "Shot in the back of the head by a different Turian, Saren."

"Saren." John said, his tone instantly filling up with pure hatred and anger.

"What happened down there, son?" Anderson asked, picking up in the venomous tone.

"This was all Saren's doing. He was the one that commanded the Geth to attack Eden Prime, all for that damned beacon." John replied, his tone still just as wild. "I even watched as he ordered the Geth to blow up the colony, and that was before he activated the beacon and used it."

"Wait, so you're telling me that Saren used the Prothean beacon?" Anderson asked, surprised as he wasn't expecting this but if information. "But what you said before makes more sense now, you said the visions were broken, it must mean that Saren took whatever was in that beacon."

"Whatever information he has, I do too." John replied. "But I can't make any sense of it."

Anderson had slipped into some deep thought, he knew Saren, better than any human. Saren hated humans, and would go to great lengths to deny them whatever they desired, but allying with the Geth and stealing the data from the Prothean beacon was a but much, there had to he more behind it. "I think it is best if you stuck around on the Normandy for a while." He suddenly said. "With that Prothean knowledge burnt into your brain, then Saren will want you dead. You will be safe here."

"Do you really expect me to remain onboard an Alliance vessel?" John asked rhetorically. "Once I'm on the Citadel and have given my testimony, then I'm gone. I didn't want to be apart of this, I don't want to be a part of this and you can't force me to stay."

"I won't have a choice, once you give your testimony the Council and Alliance will want to shift you into protective custody." Anderson said. "That is why it would be best if you stayed on the Normandy. People here actually care about you, instead of what you know."

John had to admit, Anderson did make a fair point, and remaining aboard with a few familiar faces couldn't exactly hurt things. "I'll see how the meeting with the council goes first."

"Good, I didn't expect you to understand." Anderson said. "We should be close to the Citadel. Why don't you head up to the bridge, I'll join you soon."

"Sounds like a plan." John said, he made to leave but quickly stopped. "One more thing, where are my weapons?"

"Your weapons? They should still be in the med bay." Anderson said. "Why? Do you expect to run into any trouble on the Citadel?"

"They're more of a... Occupational Hazzard." John replied.

"Occupational Hazzard, huh?" Anderson asked, a little humoured. "And what occupation would be so hazardous to ones life?"

"Simple." John replied. "I'm a Shepard, shit generally goes to shit whenever I'm around."


	4. Chapter 3

**Mass Effect: Intertwining Fates**

**Chapter 3 - The Citadel Part 1**

* * *

"Alright, so tell me again, you're an L2?" Joker asked Kaiden who had recently come up and joined him in the cockpit.

"Yeah, one of the lucky ones I guess." Kaiden replied.

"Yeah, lucky is right. I read about what happened with most of the other L2s." Joker said. "Insanity, crippling pain. Man, it's all spooky stuff. Just glad I decided to go to pilots school instead of Jump Zero."

"Good call, a lot of the students I went there with were L2s, like me, and most of them died from it, or went insane." Kaiden said. "You weren't kidding when you said it was spooky stuff."

"Guess I'm lucky with my disease then, I wouldn't have survived." Joker couldn't help but comment, but little did he know, someone else had heard.

"What disease?"

Joker turned in his chair while Kaiden turned his head to look at who had just entered the cockpit. "Ah crap." Joker muttered to himself when he saw it was Jane, dressed in her N7 armour. "Hey, Commander. I was just about to bring us into the Citadel." He said, quickly trying to change the subject and hoping the matter wouldn't be pressed any further.

"What disease, Joker?" Jane asked again, her tone becoming more serious by the second. "If its anything contagious..."

Joker began to chuckle a loud and false laugh. "Contagious! Oh that's a good one." He said. "No, my disease isn't contagious, and it sure as hell won't stop me from piloting this ship. Unless we revert to 20th century engineering, in which case I can't drive stick."

"So what is your disease anyway?" Jane asked curiously, while waving her hand at Kaiden to bring him to ease as he was now saluting her.

"My disease, it's Vrolik Syndrome." Joker replied. "In other words, brittle bone disease." He followed up noticing Jane's lost look.

"That must be rough." She said in an apologetic voice. "Are you sure it won't hinder your ability to work?"

Joker began to chuckle again, this time it wasn't false. "Commander. I'm not good, hell I'm not even great, but I am the best damned helmsman in the Alliance fleet. All those commendations in my file? Every single one earned, and not just because everyone thinks I'm a sickly little guy with creaky legs."

"Sorry Joker, I didn't mean to offend." Jane quickly replied, hoping she hadn't offended the Normandy's rather talented pilot.

"It's fine, Commander, I understand your checking up on me." Joker replied, turning back to face the controls. "Besides, you are going to have to do a lot worse to offend me."

Jane couldn't help but smile, Joker's comments were rather witty and she liked that he could be that comfortable around her. "So, you said you were just about to bring us into the Citadel?"

"Yeah, I was just waiting for the confirmation from either you or Captain Anderson." Joker replied. "Want me to make the jump?"

"Go ahead, Joker." Jane said in a commanding voice.

"Copy that." Joker said in acknowledgment. He began to take the Normandy's controls, taking it off of auto-pilot and flying it straight toward the Mass Relay that lay ahead of them. "Entering the relay in 3... 2... 1..." The Mass Relay acknowledged the Normandy's presence as the vessel entered its field, it then took ahold of the Alliance ship and instantly threw it halfway across the galaxy, to the Serpent Nebula, where the Citadel, the heart of the galactic community rested.

Just after they had jumped into the Nebula, they were joined by Ashley, she was still trying to find her way around and had intended to explore the cockpit and officially meet the pilot. When she entered the cockpit, she hadn't expected Jane and Kaiden to be in there also. "Oh." She couldn't help but say in surprise. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't think you would be up here."

"Williams." Kaiden greeted respectfully.

"Hello Ashley, enjoying your new posting?" Jane asked as she nodded to acknowledge her presence.

"Of course, Commander." Ashley swiftly answered, quickly adopting a formal stance. "I'm finally glad that I was able to receive one aboard an Alliance ship."

"I read your files earlier." Jane began. "And I must admit, I'm very impressed with what I have ready. Proficiency with numerous weapons, zero gravity combat training, commendations left, right and centre from each of your postings, as well as extremely positive feedback from those in your platoon."

"I was only doing my job, ma'am." Ashley quickly answered, still standing formally before her superior officer. She couldn't deny that she was completely flattered by the Commander's praising words.

"See, that's just it, you think it's just your job, but you go above and beyond." Jane quickly interjected. "If only every soldier had your mindset. But, there is something I have to ask..."

Ashley felt as a wave of nervousness washed through her, it was at this point that she would often get turned away from postings similar to this. It wasn't because of a dirty record, hers were completely clean, but it wasn't even to do with her record, rather who she was related to. General Williams, a high ranking official that was active in service at Shanxi during the first contact war, to this date, he is the only human to have ever surrendered to an alien species. "Of course, Commander." She answered, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice. "I'll answer any question you have."

"You applied multiple times for a posting aboard any Alliance ship, yet you were turned down at every turn." Jane commented. "With such a clean and strong record such as yours, do you know why you were turned down?"

Ashley had never been ashamed of ever being related to her grandfather, in many aspects she considered him a hero and would be honoured if she were to ever follow in his footsteps. "It's my family name." She replied simply. "You see, I am General Williams granddaughter."

Janes serious face soon turned into one of surprise, which in turn began to scare Ashley. "The same General Williams from the first contact?" She couldn't help but ask.

"The very same." Ashley replied confidentially. "I would just like it known, Commander, that I am not ashamed of who I am, or am related to. If not for my grandfathers actions, a lot of good men and women would have died, I commend his actions and find him to be a hero."

Jane surprised look soon turned into a smile, listening to Ashley defend her families honour was a remarkable trait of courage and nobility. "The way I see it, Ashley, your grandfather is a hero in my eyes also."

Ashley couldn't deny, she was caught completely off guard by Jane's statement, even Kaiden and Joker who were listening were surprised. "I... I don't follow."

Janes smile still remained. "My father was posted on Shanxi during the first contact, under your grandfathers command. He told me just how fierce a leader he really was, he could command respect from any that crossed his path and always fought on the front lines with his men in battle, rather than bringing up the rear like most commanding officers now days."

"That's..." Ashley began, now unable to find any words to explain her surprise.

"Many thought he would die that day, defending Shanxi with everything he had." Jane commented. "But he was faced with impossible odds."

"My grandfathers actions that day weren't because he was faced with impossible odds, he would have fought and died defending Shanxi if he could have, but the well-being of those under him were his priority, that was why he surrendered. They were slowly starving to death, and any sign of movement, the turians would bombard from orbit." Ashley began. "Sacrificing lives purposely for a pointless cause was something he could never do, he was a proud and honourable man. Even when negotiating his surrender, the well-being of his men was his priority, asking for fresh supplies in exchange for them laying down their weapons."

"Your grandfather did the right thing, even to me, each life is as important as the next." Jane commented. "If I were in his position, I would have done the same thing."

"Thanks Commander, that really means a lot to hear you say that." Ashley said, a very bright smile was spread across her face.

"Anytime Williams." Jane replied with a nod and a matching smile. "You've already settled in on the Normandy, let's keep it that way."

Before the two could continue their conversation, Joker loudly cleared his throat. "If I may direct your attention to the starboard window, we have just cleared the Nebula and can now view the Citadel."

Jane, Kaiden and Ashley all turned and gathered by the window, looking out into the void to gaze upon the massive space station that lay nearby. Each of the massive arms were open as far as they were able, five in total that housed many of the species along with shops, bars, hospitals, it was an entire city in space, not just for one single species but a collective group that welcomed all.

"It's no New York." Joker said. "Well, it may be as big and with less crime, but it's got nothing on Broadway."

Ashley's attention was drawn away from the Citadel to a large dreadnought. "Check it out, look at the guns on that thing, they look like they could tear through any ship in the Alliance Fleet."

"The Destiny Ascension." Kaiden said, now turning his focus to the dreadnought Ashley was mesmerised by. "An Asari dreadnought and head of the Citadel fleet."

"Good thing it's on our side then." Joker couldn't help but quip.

"Alright guys, lets get focused here." Jane said, stepping back from the viewing window. Kaiden and Ashley immediately turned from the window and stood to attention. "Captain Anderson will be up here shortly, he wants the ground team from Eden Prime to accompany him to meet with the Human Ambassador, Donnell Udina. The Ambassador has gained us an audience with the Citadel council, and they wish to hear our report I what transpired on Eden Prime. Any questions?"

Kaiden and Ashley both remained silent, indicating that neither had any. "Good." Jane said. "From now on, while we are not aboard the Normandy, I want you kitted in Armour and carrying weapons. We need to keep an eye out should Saren send someone after us, we know too much and whatever it is that he is planning, he knows we will do everything in our power to stop it."

"Of course we will, Commander!" Ashley swiftly replied.

Jane nodded. "Alright. I want you both combat ready before we dock. Dismissed."

Ashley and Kaiden immediately sprang to salute, soon after they fell out of line and left the cockpit. "Commander. We're being hailed by Citadel Security and flight control, should I put them through?"

"C-sec?" Jane said. "Put them through."

"Copy that, opening comms now." Joker replied, swiftly activating the comms.

"_SSV Normandy. This is Citadel flight control, we have you on our sensors, please alter course and proceed to the dock 3 at C-sec headquarters._"

"Copy that, flight control." Joker replied. "We are proceeding to dock 3, over and out."

With their instructions now received, Joker piloted the Normandy into a smooth docking at the C-sec dry docks. He had turned to brag about how smooth it had been, but kept his mouth shut as he saw Captain Anderson had entered the cockpit.

Jane immediately stood to attention and saluted the Captain as he entered the cockpit. "Captain on deck!" She announced.

"At ease, Commander." Captain Anderson said, saluting the Commander as he did. "Where are Williams and Alenko?"

"They are down in the armoury, sir." Jane replied. " I asked them to be kitted and ready in full combat equipment."

"Fair call. Even though we are on the Citadel, I wouldn't put it past Saren to try something." Anderson said in praise of Jane's initiative. "Once they, and your brother, arrive back here we'll make our way to the human embassy and meet with Udina. He'll want to hear your side of the story before it's taken before the council."

"Copy that, sir." Jane replied.

"Tell me, how are you feeling about the whole situation?" Anderson couldn't help but ask, and even though Joker wasn't facing them any longer, he was still listening carefully. "You may speak freely." He quickly added.

"The whole mission was a complete failure." Jane said, dropping her formal facade. "We didn't acquire the Prothean beacon, we let Saren and his Geth murder most of a human colony, not to mention Nihlus was killed when we were supposed to be watching each other's backs. Though, something good did come out of it all, I got my brother back."

Anderson listened to each world carefully, each one contained more and more frustration than the last. "Commander. We can't expect to know everything going on at any point in time, none of us knew that the Geth would attack Eden Prime, nor that Saren would be controlling them." He said. "The first day in my N7 training they told us to expect the unexpected. Not even in my wildest dreams could I have predicted that something like this would happen. But now the question remains, now that we know what has happened, what will we do with it?"

"He has the Council to hide behind." Jane pointed out. "We can't touch him."

"You're absolutely right. We need to convince the council that Saren has gone rogue, and they should rescind his Spectre status." Anderson said. "Then we can bring him down."

Jane made to answer, but the sound of footsteps ceased her words and she looked on to the fully kitted Ashley and Kaiden, standing at attention. John too, had entered the cockpit but he stood behind the two, his arms folded and the usual stern look on his face.

"We're ready to go, Commander." Kaiden said, bringing his arm up to salute, Ashley too followed suit.

"Good work, Alenko." Jane said, retuning the salute. She then turned on the spot to face Anderson. "Sir. The team is ready to disembark."

"Copy that." Anderson replied. "On your lead, Commander."

John just watched as the formalities proceed, it was good to see that in five years, Jane hadn't changed a bit. While on duty she was very careful about her words and always followed Alliance protocols and formalities. He watched as she proceeded out the airlock, closely followed by Kaiden and Ashley, Anderson began to trail along but not before turning to John. "Coming?"

John nodded. "I'm right behind you." He then followed the Captain from the Normandy.

* * *

**-S-**

* * *

"This is an outrage!" Udina began, his voice rising quite quickly. "The Council would make a move if it were a Turian colony that got hit!"

"_Your people knew exactly what was to be expected setting up colonies on the verges of Terminus systems._" The holographic projection of the Salarian councillor said.

"_The councillor is right, we cannot risk waging war with the Terminus._" The Asari councillor said.

"What about Saren?" Udina asked, his voice still raised. "You can't ignore a rogue Spectre, I demand action!"

"_You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador._" The turian councillor spat.

"_I'm sorry, but that is our final word. If you have any more concerns, please hold them until the hearing where Citadel Security will provide the findings of their investigation._" The Asari councillor said. The holographic projections faded, leaving Udina to stand in a stunned silence, all throughout his yelling he hadn't heard Anderson and his crew enter.

"Ambassador." Anderson said, announcing his arrival. "I take it that didn't go over so well."

"Of course it didn't, this wasn't an Asari or Turian colony we were talking about." Udina began. "Because then they would have taken action." He then looked passed Anderson to see Jane and her team standing at attention, with John standing over by the doorway, leaning against the frame. "I take it this is the ground team from Eden Prime?"

"All accounted for." Anderson said, turning to face Jane and the others. "As well as John Shepard, he witnessed the entire thing, not to mention he was the one who found the Prothean Beacon in the first place."

"That's very interesting, your testimony could prove Saren's guilt in all this." Udina began. "Let me hear it."

"There isn't much to tell." John replied. "Saren attacked Eden Prime with an army of Geth, then absorbed the knowledge of the Prothean Beacon, that's it."

"If you want to convince the Council of Saren's guilt, you can't leave facts out, no matter how small." Udina said, a little frustrated an John's disinterest. "Tell me, what happened to the beacon?"

John watched as Jane turned her head to look at him, the guilt of everything that transpired with the beacon still weighed heavily, he could see it in her eyes. He was about to explain the full story, but ceased before he spoke a word, if he gave his testimony, then it might be possible the blame for its destruction could fall to Jane, he still cared deeply for her and wasn't going to let her get dragged down like he knew was going to happen. "When I had cleared out the Geth guarding the beacon, I approached it, mainly because it was glowing green and it wasn't doing that when it was first dug up." John said, he then payed Jane a quick look, one that he had always given her when the two were younger, it always said 'I've got your back'

"Jane and her team had arrived just before I activated the beacon and absorbed its knowledge myself. Unfortunately, whatever it was is all broken up and I can barely make sense of it." John said. "All I know is that it shows powerful synthetics destroying an unrecognisable race that I think might be the Prothean's."

"That's very curious." Udina said as he stroked his chin in thought. "The Prothean's you say? I don't think the Council can ignore this. Did anyone else aside from Saren and yourself, use the beacon at all?"

John shook his head. "No. Once I had uncovered it, the area around it was excavated and not one person touched it."

Udina went quiet again, he was stuck in deep thought wondering how he could present this evidence to the Council. While Udina was in silence, Jane had fallen out of line and approached John, she had a smile on her face. "Thanks John." She said quietly.

John's lip curled slightly as he gave her a nod. "I wasn't going to let this blame fall to you, it was purely an accident." He said quietly so as to not draw attention from Udina and Anderson.

Jane returned his nod, she really did appreciate the gesture. Before she could reply, Udina had abandoned his thoughts and made for the door. "The council will soon be in session, they approved this meeting almost immediately because of what your mission ensued." He said. "If you will all follow me, a taxi will take us up to the tower."

"The tower?" Ashley couldn't help but ask as the whole group then began to follow Udina.

"The Citadel Tower, it is where the council holds all their hearings." Udina said as he lead them all from the embassies up to the rapid transit terminal. Soon after a taxi flew in and opened its doors. "You four take this one, Anderson and I will take the next."

John didn't need telling twice, he stepped inside and took a seat in the back, Ashley followed suit and took the seat beside John. Jane and Kaiden both took the front seats, as soon as the two had sat down, the doors on the taxi shut and automatically departed from the embassies, flying fast and high toward the tower.

* * *

**-S-**

* * *

"But sir! I need more time!"

"Time you haven't got any longer, give it up Vakarian."

"Then stall them!"

"Enough! I can't stall the council, not even for something as important as this, Garrus. Let it go."

Garrus' mandibles clicked furiously, but he didn't press the matter, his turian pride was screaming at him not to give up, but his honour and duty were forcing him to stand down to his superior. "I'm sorry, sir." He said bitterly, stepping to the side as he did to let the executor pass.

"That didn't seem to go too well."

Garrus turned to look at who the voice belonged to, he was shocked but unsurprised to see that Commander Shepard now stood behind him, along with her crew. "Commander Shepard. A great honour." He said, holding out his hand to shake hers. "Garrus Vakarian, Citadel Security. I was in charge of the investigation into Saren."

"Oh? What did you turn up?" Jane asked.

"Next to nothing." Garrus replied, his tone becoming troubled. "His files are all sealed and off limits, everything he touches is classified information. But he is rotten to the core, I can smell his stench from a parsec away."

"He's a turian, and you're a turian." John suddenly said in a disinterested tone. "I thought you all had each other's back, or something like that."

"Saren is an insult to the turian race." Garrus spat. "He has abandoned tradition as well as his duty, even if he is found guilty in this hearing."

John wasn't all that big a fan of aliens, but the last few words were beginning to pull him further into Garrus' side. "Well, good luck with your investigation, in any case." He said.

"Yeah, thanks." Garrus said, a bit unappreciative. "You better head up to the audience chamber, the hearing is about to begin."

Jane looked up behind Garrus, she couldn't deny that the Presidum tower was probably one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen. Everything about it was so clean and natural, even the very air the breathed. "Thank you, Garrus. Every bit of help is greatly appreciated." She said. "Keep up your investigation, I'm sure you will find something."

"Of course, Commander." Garrus replied. "And good luck with the hearing."

Jane nodded a thanks as Garrus left, she turned to face Ashley, Kaiden and John. "Whatever happens, please keep you cool."

Without waiting for a reply, she turned back around and began walking up to the steps toward the audience chamber. She was so focused on reaching the chamber quickly she didn't even hear Kaiden's comment about how this chamber could be a well defensible position. She made it to the final landing where she met with Anderson who was waiting for them.

"Quickly!" Anderson ushered. "The hearing has already started." He then lead the group up the final flight of stairs where they now had a full view of the audience chamber.

John had always been a quick study of areas, even without the Alliance training that was hammered into him during basic. The Councillors stood on the far side of the room, each standing behind a podium, a large open drop separated the Councillors from those attending, a garden sat at the bottom of the drop covered with a glass ceiling. Udina stood behind a podium of his own, across a small stage that elevated over the drop, a second stage to the councils right caught his eye, but what really made his blood boil was the one standing upon it, Saren, in the flesh.

John made an involuntary move to go and confront Saren, but Jane quickly caught on and stepped in front to stop him. "Leave it." She whispered in warning. "If you do anything now, our case will be ruined."

John wasn't listening, he was staring right past Jane, up to Saren who stood with his arms crossed and a smug look on his face. He wanted so badly to climb up there and make him pay for all the hurt and damage he caused,not one single person deserved to die on Eden Prime, yet Saren and his Geth mercilessly slaughtered them all. In the end, John let his anger calm down and saw reason, if he wanted to win this, then it would have to be in the councils hands.

"Good." The turian councillor began. "Now that everybody is here, you may continue Ambassdor Udina."

"As I was saying, the attack against Eden Prime by the Geth is a serious act, especially considering the circumstances behind their attack." Udina said.

"While I do agree that the attack by the Geth is cause for concern, there is no to prove that Saren was involved in any way." The Asari councillor said.

"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason." The turian councillor said.

"An eyewitness saw Saren kill Nihlus in cold blood." Udina began. "Not to mention, another witness that physically saw Saren ordering Geth to destroy Eden Prime, and the Prothean Beacon that was recovered."

"We read the reports done by, Commander Jane Shepard." The Salarian councillor began. "The testimony of one traumatised dock worker is hardly compelling evidence."

"I resent these accusations." Saren said, breaking his silence. "Nihlus was a fellow Spectre, and a friend."

"That just let you catch him off guard!" Anderson suddenly said, his tone was harsh and full of anger.

"Captain Anderson. It's not surprising that you of all people would be here, when humanity makes a mistake, you're always here to clean up your own mess." Saren said with a sneer, his eyes left Anderson and came to fall on Jane. "Ah, you must be the dear Captain's protégé. The human whose name was put forward for the Spectre candidacy, it's funny as humans are a long way off from ever having a human Spectre, you had your chance and failed."

"This is outrageous!" Udina yelled. "That is not his decision!"

"Commander Shepard's acceptance into the Spectres is no the purpose of this hearing." The Asari councillor said, trying to bring the peace between the two parties.

"This hearing has no purpose, this is a complete waste of my time." Saren spat. "I have work to do, your work might I add."

The Salarian councillor made to make a motion, but as fast as Salarians usually were, John was quicker this time. "Hey!" He yelled, drawing everyone's attention to him. Once the silence had fallen, he stepped out to join Udina so tha he may give his testimony. "Get your god damned heads out of your asses and clean the shit out of your ears then listen. I was on Eden Prime when the attack came, I saw everything that happened right from when the Geth landed to after they had all been killed, so start you damned questioning already."

"This other witness is... Interesting to say the least, yet was not mentioned in the report." The Asari councillor said. "Where did you find this... Witness."

Jane then stepped forward. "I apologise Councillors. At the time of my report, I did not know what the witness had done or seen." She paused. "There were also... Personal reasons that were not mentioned in the report, you must excuse the unprofessionalism."

"Very well then, let us hear what this witness has to say." The turian councillor said. "Start of with your name and rank."

"John Shepard." John began. "Former Allaince Military and N7 soldier class, also former."

"Reason for leaving?" The turian councillor questioned again.

"Officially on record, I was dishonourably discharged. Off the record, I abandoned my post and rank in protest of the unfair treatment of my squad, and the sacrifice they made." John said.

"All this can be checked later for verification." The Salarian councillor said. "Please, tell us your story."

John nodded and launched into his story, not leaving out any detail. For the next half hour, he explained everything that happened right from when the first shots were fired up until his blackout.

"Well, I must admit that this is pretty compelling evidence, the two eye witness accounts match up." The Asari councillor said. "Saren, do you have anything you wish to say?"

"I do in fact." Saren began. "Let the council note that you had sent me on assignment to Noveria to investigate Peak 15, more notably the Binary Helix corporation. Though my investigations turned up nothing, not the times of my arrival and departure from Port Hansen, both times personally logged by Administrator Anoleis." Saren activated his omni-tool and then transferred his alibi to the Councillors for proof of his innocence.

After a few moments of silence, the Asari councillor spoke. "Saren speaks the truth, these records show that he was on assignment during the attack on Eden Prime. This evidence is compelling enough."

"There is still one outstanding issue." Anderson quickly interjected. "If the Councillors will note the short report I sent, John Shepard has a vision burned into his mind, it may have been triggered by the beacon."

"Are we really allowing dreams into evidence now?" Saren asked. "How am I supposed to defend my innocence against this kind of testimony."

"I agree." The turian councillor said. "Our judgement must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation."

The entire chamber then fell completely silent, the decision had already been made and it now left Udina in a difficult position, his trump card had failed. John however was shaking fiercely with anger and frustration, Saren was going to walk away a free man, there was no justice in this system.

"Does anyone have anything else they wish to add?" The Salarian councillor asked, ending the growing silence and tension.

"Yeah, I do." John said, stepping forward again. He was using every shred of his self restraint from pulling out his pistol and giving Saren a third eye, but he wanted to see justice served, so he settled for paying Saren the darkest glare he could muster. "Hide behind the council and your fake evidence like the coward you are, but you and I both know exactly what happened on Eden Prime. And I promise you, that before I put a bullet in your skull, you will remember the name of everyone you and your Geth have killed."

"I hardly think that is..." The Asari councillor began, but John cut her off.

"You hardly think that this is what?" John said, turning his attention to her, the volume in his voice increasing rapidly. "Appropriate? I'll tell you what's appropriate, listening to the screams of good men, women and children as they're all gunned down without mercy by an army of Geth!" Jane stepped forward when she realised what was going to happen, she grabbed his arm to pull him back, however he sharply pulled it from her grasp, he wasn't done.

"Why can't you see that he is hiding behind his position as a Spectre!" John said, his voice had now escalated to yelling fiercely his face was beginning to turn red. "He is manipulating you, and making you all look like fools."

"Humph." Saren loudly breathed out. "Just like Captain Anderson, pushing the blame away from humanity and back onto me. It seems he taught you well."

"Pray that you never meet me again, because if you ever show your face around me again, I will kill you." John said behind clenched teeth, to say he was furious would be an understatement, he was absolutely wild. With those final words, John turned and stormed away from the audience chamber, Jane made a move to try and stop him, but he ended up flipping her off and continuing on his way.

"If that is everything, we are ready to make our decision." The Asari councillor said, she then looked to the turian councillor on her right and he ended up shaking his head, she returned the gesture with a nod of her own. "The Council had found no evidence of Saren's involvement with the Geth, or that he was behind the attack on Eden Prime. Ambassador Udina, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectre's is denied. As for the Commander's acceptance into the Spectre's, the decision is suspended until the investigation behind the attack on Eden Prime is finished."

"I'm glad to see that justice was served." Saren said. Without another word, he left his own podium and disappeared from sight. The Councillors too followed suit, leaving the Alliance crew standing there in a stunned silence.

"Well, what now?" Ashley asked, breaking the silence between them all.

"We'll have to continue this investigation, but with C-sec supervision." Anderson began. "I do have a few contacts I could get ahold of."

"Anderson, I don't think it wise if you were to run around the Citadel. You and Saren have too much history together and it could be seen as hostile and the Alliance would lose favour with the Council." Udina quickly said.

"You can't just cut Captain Anderson out of the investigation like this." Jane suddenly said. "He's too important to..."

"No Commander, Udina is right." Anderson quickly interjected. "I need to step aside."

"I don't like this, sir. You know Saren better than anyone, you know what we will come to expect." Jane replied.

"You have nothing to worry about, I trust in you and your abilities to bring him down." Anderson said. "Just stay vigilant."

Jane nodded, she appreciated the confident words Captain Anderson had said about her, and wasn't going to let him down. "Any idea where we should start?" She asked.

Kaiden who had been silent this entire time, stepped forward with a thought. "What about that turian C-sec officer, Garrus Vakarian?" He began. "He was investigating Saren and wanted to bring him down as much as us, what he knows could be useful."

"A fair point, though we don't know where he is now." Udina said. "I have a contact at C-sec, Harkin, he'll know where to find this turian."

"You really want to send the Commander to Harkin?" Anderson asked.

"What choice do we have, if we go after anyone else, Saren could be tipped off." Udina pointed out.

"Alright, fine." Anderson said, he then turned to face Jane. "If I know Harkin as well as Udina here, you can find Harkin down in the lower wards, Chora's Den."

"Chora's Den, got it." Jane acknowledged. "Is there anyone else we can get in contact with?"

"Yes. Barla Von." Anderson replied. "He is a Volus banker, but is also an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"Shadow Broker, sir?" Ashley couldn't help but ask.

"The Shadow Broker is an information broker, most famous for having detailed information on everyone and everything in the galaxy." Udina began. "For the right price, they could see a corrupt politician put in power, or cripple a government if the information was fed to the right people. They are extremely dangerous, but highly useful."

"Then why not bring them down?" Ashley asked.

"Because nobody knows where they operate from, that is why they are most famous, they are extremely illusive." Udina replied. "If we keep our distance, we can get along with them just fine."

Ashley nodded in understanding, though she didn't like the fact that someone, somewhere, had information on her that could be fed to somebody else.

"I think we will start with Barla Von." Jane said.

Anderson nodded. "Alright. If you need me, I will be in Udina's office over in the embassies."

Jane nodded, she looked back to Ashley and Kaiden then nodded toward the exit of the Citadel Tower, and all three began to make their way.

"Commander!" Anderson quickly called out as they made their way down the stairs.

Jane stopped and turned to face Anderson. "Yes, sir?"

"Good luck."

* * *

**-S-**

* * *

For almost an hour now, John had sat at the bar to some club down in the lower wards, he didn't know the name of it, except that many of the men inside ironically referred to it as a 'gentlemen's club'. He looked around to see all the Asari strippers, moving fluidly like water in a skin tight outfit that showed every curve they had to offer, and all the men just gawking at then and throwing away their credits needlessly. He swirled the still full bottle of beer in his hands, generously donated to him by three Turians that said he looked down in the dumps. Truth be told, he really was, he had seen just how the justice system worked in intergalactic politics and it all reminded him too much of the stonewalling he received from the Allaince admiralty board.

His attention was diverted from his thoughts to a scuffle going on over by the storerooms, a Krogan seemed to be attempting to enter but several bouncers were stopping him in his tracks. John managed to pick up bits of the conversation.

"You tell Fist, I will kill him." The Krogan said.

"Yeah, yeah. Keeping moving along, you're not welcome in here." One of the bouncers said. "Now get lost."

The Krogan flipped the bouncers off and came over to the bar the took a seat beside John. They couldn't help but grumble until one of the waitresses came over and gave him a drink, in which he drained with a single gulp.

"I guess this gentlemen's club is the place to go if you need to get away from the galaxies problems." John couldn't help but say, still staring at his untouched bottle of beer.

"Problems?" The Krogan said. "My problems are in this club, and there is only one way the Krogan deal with our problems. A bullet, or our heads."

John chuckled to himself, the ironic humour not lost on him. "A pity mine can't be solved with a bullet." He replied, but quickly backtracked. "Let me rephrase that, you're right in saying a bullet would solve this problem, but there aren't enough in this galaxy to exact the revenge I have in mind."

"Revenge, huh?" The Krogan couldn't help but ask. "Somebody get on your bad side?"

"You could say that." John said. His attention was pulled to the three Turians who had bought the beer he had not touched, one of them seemed to have their omni-tool active while the other two were huddled in close and looking at it also. "But I want to do just more than kill them, I want them to suffer for what they did. To suffer a pain worse than death until they are begging for it, and even then I won't kill them, not until I am fully satisfied."

The Krogan couldn't help but grumble, but soon he was smiling. "It is a pity you were born as a human, you would have made a fine Krogan."

"Thanks." John said, a little lightened up at the compliment payed to him. "I think."

The Krogan couldn't help but chuckle lightly. "I like you, human. You have a name?"

"Shepard." John began. "John Shepard."

"Shepard, huh?" The Krogan asked. "That name definitely has a nice ring to it. Urdnot Wrex." The Krogan held his massive hand out to John.

John took the Wrex's hand and shook it fiercely, he felt as Wrex's strong grip almost broke every bone in his hand, but he wasn't going to show any sign of pain. With his peripheral vision, John could see as the three Turians left their seats and began to make their way over to the bar, more specifically, the section in which he sat. He turned in his stool back to the bar and went back to looking at the untouched beer.

"What's wrong with the beer that we gave you?" One of the Turians asked as they leant on the bar next to John. "We wasted good credits on it and now it's probably gone all flat and tasteless."

John could feel the presence of the other two around him, one stood directly behind him while another leant on the bar between him and Wrex. "As it turns out, a drink isn't what I needed after all." He said, he then stood up from this stool to leave. "I was just leaving in fact."

Before he could turn to leave, he felt as a massive pressure was pressed to the back of his skull, the turian behind him had pulled a gun on John. "No, no, no. We bought that beer for you, you will drink it before you leave." The same turian said. The turian on John's opposite side had pulled out a viscous looking knife and was holding it on the bar, the blade tip facing John's stomach.

John could feel his training beginning to kick in, he wasn't just going to sit back and die just because he insulted some turian. He quickly surveyed his surroundings, looking at ways in which he could defend himself. "And why would I want to drink a flat beer?" John asked, stalling for time. "If you buy me another, I might just drink it."

"No, no. You drink that one." The turian said, pointing to the bottle. "And then we kill you. Nothing personal, just good business."

"And what business would that be?" John asked, still waiting for the opportune moment.

"Saren pays us well to do his dirty work." The turian said. "And he must really want you dead, because he put a large bounty..."

The turian couldn't finish his sentence, at the mention of Saren's name John's vision became clouded as the rage set in. He swiftly turned on the spot, as he did he reached up and grabbed the gunman's wrist and forced it away from his head. The gunman pulled the trigger of their pistol, hoping to hit John, but John had already diverted the aim of the gun toward the knife wielding Turians head. Seeing as the turian dropped to the ground, John spotted the knife he had left on the bar, he swiftly grabbed it with his other hand and thrust it harshly up into the gunman's ribcage causing them to collapse to the floor in agonising pain, though it didn't last long as they soon bled out onto the floor.

With the gunman's pistol now in John's hand, he turned it on the final turian, who was now terrified at what he had just witnessed. "Please!" The turian pleaded desperately. "Don't kill me!"

It took every ounce of restraint in John's body to stop him from pulling the trigger, in the end he lowered the pistol. "Go tell your boss what just happened." John said, he then pressed the pistol harshly up against the Turians head. "And if he doesn't kill you, pray that you never see me again, otherwise you'll end up like your pals here. Got it?"

The turian swiftly nodded, their eyes wide open in fear as the cowered beneath John. "Good. Now you have three seconds to get out of my sight." John said. "One..."

Before John could even say two, the turian had sprinted for the door and was gone from sight. Hopefully never to be seen again. "I like the way you handle yourself, Shepard." Wrex said, having witnessed the whole thing take place beside him. "I could use a good partner like you."

"Partner? For what?" John asked, feeling himself coming down from the adrenaline rush.

"A large cash bounty has been put on the head of Fist." Wrex began. "As it happens, he owns this club."

John took a seat beside Wrex once more. "Before I agree to anything, I want to know who put the bounty on him and why." He asked. "I'm no bounty hunter, but if this guy is dirt then I'll consider it."

"The bounty was put on Fist by the Shadow Broker." Wrex said. "He wants Fist dead because as it turns out, Fist was double dealing."

John knew about the Shadow Broker and just what they did for a living. "The Shadow Broker put a bounty on him? Fist must have done something to really piss them off."

"They did, but I'll explain elsewhere." Wrex said. "Your little fight gathered the attention of those useless bouncers." He nodded over to the door where several heavily armed thugs with their weapons drawn had just entered from the storerooms.

John looked over to the door and couldn't help but groan. He couldn't help but notice how empty the den now looked, the scuffle must have scared somme of the patrons off. "This is exactly what I need right now." He muttered. "Alright, let's go."

Wrex nodded, he stood up from his stool and followed John out of the bar, noticing that all had gone quiet and the patrons, strippers and bar staff were all cowering in fear and watching them as they left. Once outside, Wrex began to question John. "Where did you learn to do all that?" He asked after they had out enough distance between them and the den.

"The Alliance and N7 training program." John replied simply. He continued to walk until they entered a deserted thoroughfare. "Now, tell me about this Fist guy."

"Right." Wrex began. "Fist is a former agent for the Shadow Broker, he betrayed him and with the information Fist has on him, he is a serious liability. So, he hired me to put him down."

John listened carefully. "Did the Shadow Broker explain why Fist betrayed him?"

"He was double dealing." Wrex said. "With a turian named Saren, he is a..."

The mention of Saren's name immediately grabbed John's full attention, everything that seemed to be happened to John ever since he arrived on the Citadel had Saren written all over it. "I'll do it." John said instantly.

"That was quick." Wrex said. "I barely even got to finish convincing you."

"You don't need to convince me any more." John said, his anger setting in and his temper rising. "If he is working with Saren, then that's good enough for me." If John had any hope of bringing Saren down, then taking out his network of contacts would be a great way to start to working his way up to the traitorous turian.

"Good." Wrex replied. "Whatever stories you have, you can keep to yourself, this is now business."

John made to reply, however they were approached by several officers, their uniform gave them away as Citadel Security. A turian officer approached the two while the rest held back, their hands held at their side ready to draw their pistols if they had to. "You two." The turian began. "I am placing the both of you under arrest, please turn around and put your hands behind your backs."

Wrex turned on the spot, he knew if he caused any problems here and now, getting out to perform his bounty would take longer than the Shadow Broker would like. John however wasn't following the instructions given. "On what charges?" He asked.

"Disrupting the peace and the murder of two Turians in Chora's Den." The turian answered. "The Krogan is also an accomplice to said charges."

"That's a load of bull." John replied, his already high temper rising even further. "It is called defending myself, those two had a gun pressed to my head and a knife on me."

"Yeah, yeah. You can say all that down at headquarters." The turian C-sec officer said. "Now turn around and put your hands behind your back, otherwise we will use force."

John didn't move an inch, instead he just glared deeply into the Turians eyes, not blinking or even avoiding eye contact, his day just kept getting worse and worse and this Turians snide attitude wasn't helping things. The Turian didn't even care, he knew he had backup and they would step in if necessary. In the end, John complied, he turned on the spot and held his hands behind his back.

"See? Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" The turian said, now approached with some binders. "It's a good thing you humans are so easy to control."

That was the last straw, John twirled on the spot, closing his hand into an iron fist and putting his full weight into a heavy punch. John felt the Turians jaw shatter from the initial hit and the follow through forced the turian to twirl on the spot, and then collapse to the ground in front of the other C-sec officers who had all pulled their own pistols out and had them trained on John. He couldn't but smile as he held his arms up, although that one hit didn't make up for what he had put up with today, but it did help to relieve some of the pent up anger and frustration. But he knew that all this was just the beginning of his stay on the Citadel.


End file.
